


Story of Asami

by Tigerclaw191



Category: The Legend of Korra - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 24,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27772798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigerclaw191/pseuds/Tigerclaw191
Summary: Asami invites Bolin over for tea as he suspects her feelings for Natsu. Asami tells him everything: from her relationship with Mako, Natsu’s relationship with Lisanna, the friendship that seemed to withstand anything, and how she started to realize Natsu was more than just a friend. Asami is confused and hesitant to tell Natsu in fear of damaging their friendship and leans on Bolin for advice.
Relationships: Asami Sato/Original Character(s), Bolin & Asami Sato, Mako & Asami Sato, Mako (Avatar)/Original Female Character(s), Mako/Asami Sato, Original Male Character & Original Female Character
Kudos: 2





	1. THE BEGINNING

My nails normally looked a little scuffed, what with tinkering around in the workshop, but at that moment they were particularly bad. I hadn’t stopped picking at them since I arrived at the police station a couple hours before. Mako had tried to stop me by holding my hand but I just shooed him away. Dad knew about him and welcomed him with open arms into our home, along with Bolin. Spirits, he welcomed the Avatar himself. He sponsored the Fire Ferrets! Why? Why would Hiroshi Sato, the man who had a hatred for benders brew inside him since Mom’s death, let three benders into his home if he wanted nothing more than equality?

_ Equality. As if this was even close to equality. This was just violence. _

“Alright, kid, now I just have to ask a few questions.” It was Lin. Lin Beifong? Chief of Republic City Police, Lin Beifong?  _ This is how big that this “equalize” situation has become, that the Chief of Police is now involved? And now I’ve been dragged into it. Wonderful. _ “I gotta ask some routine questions. I need your name and some information about tonight-”

“My name is Asami Sato.” I told her. “Tonight I discovered my father’s secret workshop where he built weapons for the Equalizers. He said it was for my mother. She was killed by benders when our home was broken into years ago.”

I stopped picking my nails and looked right into her eyes. “You think I knew about this? That I would be okay with my father making weapons, and in honour of my mother? This is the last thing she would have wanted. If I had known I would have put a stop to this violence. I’m dating a bender! I’m friends with his brother, I’m friends with the Avatar!”

Lin rolled her eyes as soon as I mentioned Natsu. I guessed she was still irritated with his untimely arrival. “Yeah, and your father was a-okay with them spending time with you. He was almost too welcoming to them, wasn’t he? People do crazy things to look innocent. You wouldn’t believe half the things I’ve seen people do to clear their names.”

“Listen, I like my friends, benders or not.” I was trying to be tough, really, but it was here I realized why he was so okay with Team Avatar. He didn’t actually care about them. They were pawns. I was a pawn. And that broke my heart.

A lower-ranked officer opened the door and popped his head in. Natsu was behind him and gave me a sheepish smile. I pretended not to notice. He was right and I should have taken his concerns more seriously. “Lin, a word?” She groaned and held the door open just a crack as the three spoke in agitated whispers.

“She couldn’t have known, you should’ve seen her face when she saw the workshop,” Natsu had said. Lin was busy telling him off for interfering with yet another police matter.

The other cop chimed in. “Chief, I think he’s right. Let her go. She’s had a long day and needs to go home and get some sleep.”

“I don’t want to go home,” I called loud enough for them to hear, still picking at whatever was left of my nails. The door reopened. “I don’t want to be anywhere that will remind me of him.”

“You can stay at Air Temple Island with us if you want?” Natsu offered.

I got up, nodded and followed him out. “I would really appreciate that.” He walked a little ahead of me so as to avoid eye contact (I guessed that being friends with the best friend’s girlfriend  _ slash _ daughter of the former CEO now-terrorist was a little embarrassing).

_ You shouldn’t be thinking that. Natsu is your friend. _

He had always seemed, well, agitated at my presence. Everything that Mako, Bolin and Lisanna had to say about him was wonderful. He was a good friend, he was fierce both in and out of the arena, he was fearless, but whenever he saw me he seemed nervous. As if there was something he knew that I didn’t. As if there was something about me that scared him.

_ Me, scaring the Avatar, The Dragon Prince, The Hybrid? Okay. Sure, Asami. _

The only time he ever seemed comfortable around me was when I had him and boys over at the estate and I took him round the track. “Let’s do it!”, he said when I suggested it, the cramped feeling easing up on his face, the big cheesy grin he had that I caught in the reflection of the rear view mirror. He told me he had me pegged wrong.

_ He had your father pretty well-pegged. _


	2. SPIRITS AND NIGHTMARES

There was a strong scent of my father’s pipe and, no, It couldn’t be. Jasmine: It wasn’t the fale jasmine aroma of perfume either…it was real, and warm. There was the soft slurping of tea coming from somewhere in the room that I couldn’t quite place and the buzz of the radio music. Dad was home.

I stood on my toes and just touched the handle of the door and it swung open. “There’s my girl!” he said, nearly knocking his tea over as he scooped me up and sat me on his lap. “And what did you do today?”

“Tell him how we picked jasmine for tonight's tea, dear!” It was my mother. She handed me my own little teacup half-full with a piece of ice floating in the middle and kissed my forehead. I looked up to make eye contact but her face wasn’t there, only her hair as it swept across my nose when she leaned down to kiss me and her hands were holding out my teacup. _Why can’t I see her?_

I gasped, then cried out. Mako rustled in his sleep and tried to hold me. I couldn’t be held. I needed to cool down, but in no way would lying naked next to my firebending boyfriend help. I know I shouldn’t have, but I snuck him into the girl’s dormitories of Air Temple Island after everyone had fallen asleep. The thought of him not being with me had rubbed me the wrong way as Ikki had said something a little unnerving earlier.

She and Natsu were showing me to the girl’s section of the Island. Natsu, again, was walking a little hurriedly in front of me, Ikki babbling along as she walked next to me. I wasn’t really listening but her cute chirpy voice was definitely cheering me up. “Did Natsu tell you that Mako was cheating on you?”

Natsu stopped in his tracks for a mere second before swinging open a couple doors that lead to a room. He politely showed me in and promptly slammed them shut to lock Ikki out. “Here’s your room!” he sighed, “I know it’s a little rustic compared to what you’re used to. And look about the whole Mako cheating on you, I talked it out with him and tried to make him tell you. You should be talking to him about it and I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry, It’s yours and Mako’s problem. I shouldn’t be the one to talk to you about it. Sorry.”

Trying to get an answer out of Mako was nearly impossible. He looked just as caught in the headlights as Natsu had in front of my room an hour earlier. “Lisanna has feelings for me” he finally confessed. Apparently they had gotten into a heated argument earlier where he reaffirmed that he had feelings for me, to which Lisanna had responded that he was thinking of her the entire time. Natsu found out and tried to put a stop to it, which resulted in Mako and Natsu fighting it out. To which Mako concluded by saying he’ll sort everything out with me and Lisanna. Natsu tried to talk Mako out of it and just end it with Lisanna since Mako was officially dating me but he didn’t budge.

_Some nerves that Lisanna and Natsu have._ I wished I could be angry about it but instead I was downright impressed. If anything I was worried Lisanna was right but I couldn’t bring myself to ask him if it were true. I kissed him instead, we ended up naked, put the pieces together for yourself.

I couldn’t bring myself to be sour with Natsu, either. I could tell something was up between the two of them, but that wasn’t really his doing. If Mako really wasn’t being true to me that was his problem. And besides, Natsu needed help defeating Amon, and I doubted that any drama between friends would help the situation. The stress of his inability to airbend certainly had a negative contribution, too. Relationships were not the priority at that point. Team Avatar needed to stick together.

But there was still something so satisfying in having him to myself. I knew it was wrong. I knew that they should have been together from the start and that I meddled by way into it, but I wanted some fun.

By the time Mako and I had broken up I had already lost feeling for him. I went from being mad at him, to being mad at myself, to not caring at all. I still can’t believe I wasted so much time on him. I couldn’t believe how strong Natsu was for not letting his anger and temper for Mako on cheating on me get in the way of his work or his friendship with me. He defended me to the very end, he risked everything just to confront Tarlok about my unfair imprisonment. Nothing got in the way of him being the Avatar. Nothing.

And I guess that’s how he and Mako ended up being rivals. I know I shouldn’t have been so entertained by their relationship, but it was like a trainwreck. Team Avatar just couldn’t look away. It was like the two of them were in constant competition to see who was more hot headed, and in the real end, Natsu won. Well, at least I think he did. He gave Mako a run for his newly-earned money.

“Wait, wait, wait…” Bolin interrupts. “What do you mean, the ‘real end?”

“Bo, you know that the first time Mako and Lisanna broke up I made a move on him.”

He shuffles in his seat (well, my seat, technically. To be specific, my kitchen chair, as he chewed on some bizarre snake he brought with him). “But if you stopped having feelings for Mako, why did you kiss him again?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.” I pour more tea from the pot and sigh. “I think I wanted to make sure I wasn’t into him anymore, and I wasn’t, but I was jealous for whatever reason.”

“Because you liked Natsu!”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Would you let me finish?”

But again we couldn’t focus on drama. Now we had Unalaq trying to keep the Spirit Portals open in time for Harmonic Convergence and we needed to take action. Future Industries was all but down the drain, what with my father’s reputation and my warehouse being ransacked and Varrick simply being Varrick. I was too scared and too busy to think of anything other than what could happen if we had a Dark Avatar on our hands. I was too angry at the fact that Unalaq could even think he was on Natsu’s level, that he could just make himself as powerful simply to cause destruction. I didn’t have much time to focus on anger, though, as Natsu put me in charge of keeping Chief Tonraq and his wife Senna safe the night of the Convergence.

“Asami?” his hair was a mess. “Can you take Oogi and the Chief back to Senna?”

Of course I helped in any way that I could. I had never been so on the edge as I had when he entered the Spirit World to fight Vaatu, or Unalaq, or some combination of the two of them. I was scared for him, scared for little Jinora, scared for the entirety of Team Avatar battling in the Spirit World and scared for the balance of the world itself. There was too much at stake. If he lost…

_He’s not going to lose. We’re talking about Natsu. Keep a straight face and focus on his parents and helping Katara with Jinora._

The water in Jinora’s little bath rippled, then splashed. It had been stagnant for a week but she was back and she was smiling as always. Everything was okay. Unavaatu had been defeated. The world was, momentarily, back in balance.

“What about Natsu?” _Spirits, Asami._ “And the others?”

“Don’t worry. They’re alright.” _Her smile grew even bigger._ “Natsu saved the world.”

As it turns out, Natsu couldn’t have done it without Jinora. I kind of wish I could have been there to see the batte. Apparently, it was beautiful as it was destructive. Kind of like Natsu. But spirits, was I proud of him. His decision to keep the Spirit Portals open, his prioritizing not only the world but himself above anyone else, his sheer selflessness, I could go on for hours. I was so, so beyond proud of him.

_Unfortunately, most of the world felt a lot differently._


	3. Snazzy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With new Airbenders to be found, Asami finds that she might have feelings for Natsu.

Pabu jumps into my lap and eyes my tea. “What, are you thirsty?”

“Jasmine’s his favorite,” he says, still crunching his food. “And just to clarify, you don’t have feelings for Mako? At all?”

“He’s a very good friend,” I assure him, “and he’s important to me, but I can’t see him as anything more. I just can’t.” I don’t want to go into what happened between us while Natsu was gone. I was alone, I missed him, and I regret it. It was a stupid and it was a wasted night.

Bo shrugs. “I don’t think this was ever really about him. You and Natsu, I mean. I don’t really think that the drama between you two and Mako was never actually about him. I think, for you, this was about Natsu all along.”

I pour some tea into a bowl for Pabu and set it on the floor. “It was about Lisanna for Natsu.”

“That’s been over for, what, three years now? Four? Sami, If he wanted to be with her, he would be with her. This is Natsu. He does what he wants.”

_Then obviously he doesn’t want me._

I was sitting at the little besk in my bedroom looking over some contracts that had recently been signed between purchases and Future Industries. I couldn’t believe that I had managed to drag the company out of its grave with everything that had happened in the past few months. Blueprints for the newer model of the Satomobile were next to the pile of deals. I was going to be back in the workshop and I was going to be in an office. Things were looking up.

The door flung open and a gush of wind scattered the papers across the room. “I’m so sorry!” It was Natsu. “Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair up. It’s-”

“Snazzy?” I finished with a chuckle. My mother always joked about how snazzy I looked anytime we made a public appearance to promote the company. For events my hair would always be up in a bun, a couple of loose curls would strategically ‘fall out’ and tickle my shoulders. That night it looked a bit sloppier.

He laughed too. “Yeah. Snazzy. Anyway, I have good news and bad news and a favour to ask.”

“Goodness. This late at night? Go for it.”

“I’ve been kicked out of Republic City.”

“What? Why, what did you do?”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Apparently, I’ve caused ‘nothing but trouble’ since I arrived here, and Raiko wants me out.” He made a face when quoting Raiko that I could not not laugh at.

“So what now? Where are you supposed to go?” I didn’t want him to leave. We just had a really nice day together joking about how weird Mako had been acting around the both of us. I confessed that I made a move on Mako when Natsu was out and he confessed that he didn’t like me all that much when we first met, and how he thought I was a stuck up rich kid. It felt like it cleared any bad energy that had kept us at a distance. He called me his girl friend. He couldn’t leave now, not as we were just starting to get close.

“This is where the good news comes in. We found out that new Airbenders are popping up all over the Earth Kingdom, and we're going to go out looking for them. This is also where the favour comes in. I need to borrow an airship.”

“Natsu, you have no idea how to operate an airship.” I put my glasses on my desk and Natsu awkwardly handed me the papers that he sent flying. “You nearly drove a Satomobile into a Spirit Vine yesterday.”

“I know, and that’s where you come in!” his eyes widened and he had a bit of a half-grin as he excitedly filled me in. “We’re going to Ba Sing Se to look for more Airbenders! Everybody is joining us, including the Strauss siblings. We’re going to try to rebuild the Air Nation at the Northern Air Temple. We’ll make some stops along the way in towns that reported new Airbenders, Mako is bringing a map for up tomorrow.”

“Hey, I guess that means both Mako and Lis are done being weird around us.”

“I hope so.”

I sat down and looked at the inventory report. A company had just put in an order for airships and we only had a couple at the time, so technically taking one would be irresponsible. But flying one above the cities like Ba Sing Se would be great advertising.

_You’re the CEO, you can do whatever you want._

“I’m in. Let’s do it.”

We left the following morning. I flew the airship down to Air Temple Island and opened its doors to the public with my hand on my hip. “Did someone order a fully-equipped Future Industries airship?” I was back in business, I was becoming close with Natsu, and I was about to leave on an incredible adventure.

He beamed up at me. “It’s perfect! Thanks, Asami.”

I flipped my hair. _What in the Spirit World was that?_ “I figured if we’re going to Ba Sing Se to search for Airbenders we should do it in style.”

He didn’t mind the hair flip. I don’t think he did, anyway, he didn’t mention it. In fact, we kept getting closer. We kept joking about Tenzin’s well-intentioned ways of recruiting the new Airbenders to join us that inevitably blew up in his face. Nobody really wanted to leave their old lives behind. He started trying to tempt people with tattoos and vegetarianism and giving up worldly possessions and we started to see why nobody wanted to join.

“We can’t just expect people to give up everything they have just to learn Airbending, Natsu.” I told him on one particularly rough day when he tried to drago a guy out of his house. “People have a right to live the life they want.”

“I didn’t.” He scoffed. “I didn’t choose to be the Avatar, or the Dragon Prince, or even a Saiyan-First one Hybrid. But you don’t see me running away from my responsibilities just because I would rather work on a farm or something.”

He had a point. “Maybe we just need a new tactic.”

I could almost see the wheels behind his eyes when they suddenly met mine, something danced in my chest. “Mako will probably hate it, but I think it’ll work.”

“I love it already.”

Mako certainly hated it. We decided that Tenzin and Natsu would showcase their Airbending talents in a little street performance. Mako would play a Firebending convict who had just escaped prison. Natsu would save the day by catching him using Airbending, then we would ask any Airbender to come speak with us.

I stood a little bit behind the rest of Team Avatar and watched. Bolin was as enthusiastic as ever, Jinora was so graceful, and Mako? Was just unimpressive as he was unimpressed with the idea. And Natsu seemed real unimpressed with him.

Within seconds he was flailing in the air, shrieking for Natsu to put him down. “This is not what we rehearsed! Natsu! Put me down!”

He looked back at me, laughing, and I laughed with him, the same feeling in my chest as when we locked eyes last night.

_What a show-off._


	4. BANDITS AND SECRETS

The next time Natsu came to ask me a favour, he knocked. I placed a little paperweight I had taken from my father’s office on top of the growing pile of blueprints. I know that originally I didn’t want anything that would remind me of him, but I was starting to miss having him around. It was a gift to him from my mother. I guess in keeping it I could at least have the memory of them still together, still happy, still a family.

_ Team Avatar is your family now. _

“Hey, I have another favour to ask, if you don’t mind.” He said, slowly inching in so as not to send my belongings whirling in the air.

“You don’t have to be so careful, Natsu, I put a paperweight on top of the blueprints,” he gave a bit of a forced laugh as he came in, I guess he was still a little embarrassed. I smiled to show him I didn’t mine. “What’s up?”

“Her majesty wants me to pick up a tax collection in a town a little South from here. I, uh, was hoping you’d tag along?” he tried to lean back on a control table, thinking it was a desk, and set off a few buttons, and shrieked as the airship grumbled.

I rushed over and turned off the controls. “Don’t worry, you’ve only turned the heating on. I’d love to. Should we bring the bending brothers along with us?”

“I was kinda thinking maybe it could be just you and I? Like some royalty and heiress time,” he rubbed the back of his head, “unless you think we should bring them with us? I mean, the Queen mentioned something about bandits, but that’s nothing we can’t handle, we’ve battled Equalists and Bad Spirits, but if you think-”

I stroked his bicep to reassure him.  _ Girl friends totally do this kind of stuff with guy friends. _ “We’ll be alright. You’re the Avatar, I’ve got an Equalist glove and years of self-defence training, I think we can handle a couple of bandits.”

“Perfect, great, thank you so much Asami!” he gushed, then turned super serious. “We leave in an hour. I’ll meet you in the airship.”

And, of course, there were more than a couple bandits. Too many to count. They circled us on motorcycles and hooted and hollered at me and mocked Natsu. Worse yet, our escorts fled for safety as soon as they arrived. I charged up the glove and looked at him.

“Maybe we should’ve brought everybody else.” he mumbled.

Looking back I don’t know how I wasn’t terrified. We were surrounded by a group outlaws who seemed willing to cause some serious harm just for a couple bags of gold. We were definitely outnumbered and lacking in weaponry. But I felt the adrenaline rise just below my ribs and above my stomach and into my heart. I could feel the glove warming up in my hand. I inched closer to Natsu and, with a scowl on my face that taunted  _ Just try me _ , and analyzed the group. We could handle this.

They instigated the attack but Natsu was too fast for them. A giant brick of earth shot out from the ground and sent a couple of guys flying like the papers in my bedroom. I ran, head on, towards another bandit brandishing some sort of club and yelling as he rode right at me, but jumped over it and kicked him off the bike.

There was another one charging at me and I didn’t have time to react but another wall of earth shattered from the ground and hit him. I turned and saw Natsu behind me. He winked.

With another blast of air two more bandits who had gotten their hands on some gold were knocked off their bikes as I jumped over a spear, slammed the glove into the bandit who aimed it at me, and took the weapon for myself. Natsu finished off the leader with yet another column of earth that got him right in the gut.

“Retreat!” he bellowed, the other bandits climbing back onto their bikes and scampering away. “You’re on the wrong side of this fight, Avatar. That gold belongs to the people, not to the Queen!”

“Why do I get the feeling he’s right?” Natsu asked worriedly.

I turned off the glove and started putting the bags of gold back onto the waggon. When I was done, Natsu started wheeling the bags of gold onto the airship. “He is. But if we want to find the Airbenders in Ba Sing Se, we need to get this back to the Queen. Come on. I’ll make the trip back a little fun.”

“Yeah? How?” He asked as we made it back onto the ship.

I realized how much of a mess my hair probably was and ran my fingers through it a couple times. “I’ll tell you a secret and me and you’ll tell me a secret about you. Friend stuff.” In truth, I didn’t know what friends did at all. I didn’t have too many friends growing up. Dad kept me under close watch out of fear. Team Avatar was the first group of friends I ever had.

He gazed out the window as I fried up the engine and took off. “You flip your hair pretty often. Maybe you are kinda prissy.”

“Since when do I flip my hair often?” But I knew he was thinking of the other day when I brought the airship to Air temple Island.

“You should learn how to drive,” he teased, rubbing his head, playing with his hair, “besides, it’s relaxing.”

I had completely forgotten about that.  _ I need to watch myself, this is getting out of hand. _ “I’ll flip my hair as much as I please, and I'll take a few bandits with me as I do it.”

He shrugged. “I’ll admit, I’m impressed. Lisanna could never have her hair that long. She says that it gets in the way of whatever she’s doing. Mage stuff.”

“Sure it does.”

“Anyway, tell me a secret.”

My heart fluttered. “You first.”

He sighed and thought for a second before answering. “I wish, I wasn’t so hot-headed.”

“Maybe hot-headed isn’t the right word?” I suggested, checking the mpa again to make sure we were heading in the right direction. “You’re passionate and you’re protective.”

“So are you, but you’re not angry like I am.”

“You’re not angry. I’ll admit, at first I found you a little intimidating, but that was only because I hadn’t gotten to know you. When you first arrived in Republic City, you were a little unpredictable. And maybe a little hot-headed.”

He chuckled. “Told you.”

“But you’ve grown a lot since then. Not to mention, when you first arrived, you were thrust into a pretty serious situation. You hadn’t dealt with anything like that before. You lost your family when you were just born, your uncle was killed right in front of you when you were just 5 years old, you were sheltered and were expected to suddenly know how to solve every issue immediately. Anyone would react with frustration.”

“I guess so.”

“And now look at you. You were able to give Benders their abilities back. You kept the world from falling into Unalaq’s hands. You kept the Spirit Portals open and now you’re on a mission to rebuild the Air Nation after it was pushed to near extinction almost two hundred years ago. Your passion has brought a lot of good to this world.”

He gave me a half smile and thanked me before keeping quiet for a couple minutes. I guess he was reflecting. “Your turn.”

“I’ve had nightmares ever since the night my mother died.” I confessed.

“What do you do when you have one?”

I shrugged. “Depends on how I wake up. Sometimes I wake up shivering and need to wrap myself in multiple blankets just to feel safe. Sometimes I wake up burning with a fever and have to either sit outside or take a cold shower.”

“How often do you get them?” He crossed his arms. “Sorry. That’s none of my business.”

I smiled. “It’s okay. Usually three times a week. It was a lot worse before. I used to get them every night. Apparently nightmares are linked with stress so I always try to relax before bed with a cup of tea or some stretches.”

“You could always come sleep with me, if you want,” he offered, cracking his knuckle and trying not to make eye contact. “Not what I meant, I mean. I can Firebend to help you warm up or cool the room down by Airbending or something. Anything to help you sleep better at night, ya know.” He finished, smiling nervously.

“That means a lot to me, Natsu. Thank you. I might take you up on that offer.”  _ He is your friend. This is probably what it’s supposed to feel like when you get close to someone, and not in an intimate relation kind of way. This is not a crush. _ I let the airship descend as we flew over Ba Sing Se and landed it near the guesthouses where we were staying. “Home sweet home.”

Natsu shot off the floor where he had been sitting crossed-legged and grabbed the wheelbarrow with the tax collection, “I should get this back to the Earth Queen. We need to find those Airbenders,” and left without saying goodbye. I was okay with that, though. I was too content to really care. I got off the airship and went to take a nap as he brought the gold to the Queen and had one of the best dreams of my life. I can’t remember what it was about, but all I know is I woke up with a smile on my face and that was good enough for me.


	5. RESCUE MISSION

The rest of the time in Ba Sing Se was beyond hectic. The Queen informed Natsu that there were no Airbenders in the city after he returned with the tax collection. Mako and Bolin hadn’t returned with Kai yet, leading us to worry that all three were now lost somewhere in the city, it was obvious that the Queen wanted us out, and Natsu refused to leave without a couple Airbenders and the rest of Team Avatar.

As horrible as it sounds, having alone time with Natsu while Mako and Bolin were gone was wonderful. When we weren’t distracted with other matters (looking for Airbenders, trying to run a business while aboard, you get it) we were constantly joking around, training, and talking about anything and everything. Everything between us flowed so naturally that I began to think it wasn't a coincidence that we found each other all those months ago. Maybe with Harmonic Convergence and the opening of the Spirit Portals our energies became further intertwined. We were drawn to each other.

At first I was hesitant to sleep in the same room with him. I didn’t want to intrude on him or invade his personal space or interrupt and Avatar-Dragon Prince meditation stuff. But one night I had a particularly bad nightmare and woke up feeling as if my skin was on fire.

_ He wouldn’t have offered if he didn’t mean it. _

And I tried to cool off, to fall back asleep, but I couldn’t. I was wired and scalding. I threw a robe over myself and crept down the hall. A bit of light was peeking through from under his door, so I knocked and stuck my head in. “My turn to ask you a favour.”

He got up from doing crunches and waved for me to come in. “Nightmare?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really. I need to cool down.”

He opened the windows and immediately his room became a wind tunnel. I shrieked, expecting maybe a cool breeze, and the air fell back to normal. His hair was a mess and was strewn across his face. “That’s a nice look for you.”

He smiled as he moved the hair out of his face and eyes. “Am I snazzy?”

I flipped over to twist my hair into a bun and stood back up again to make eye contact. “Always. You know, a gentle draft would have worked nicely.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’ll keep that in mind next time.” He smiled, going to set the couch right for him to sleep on. “You take the bed, I got the couch.”

“It’s ok, you can come in the bed I don’t mind.” I smiled at him.  _ Don’t make it weird, don’t make it weird. _

He stretched and climbed into bed. “You sure?”

I had to hold back from smiling. “Sure.”  _ Don’t make this weird. _

He scooted over to make room as I tucked myself under the silken sheets. “I won’t sleep too close. I, uh, don’t want you to burn up again. You need rest.”

“Thank you, Natsu.”

“Anytime, sweet dreams,” he said as he sunk into his pillow.

“You too.” I was sound asleep by the time I rested my head upon mine.

The next morning Natsu needed to let off some steam, so naturally, I obliged. There wasn’t much I could do, though, considering I wasn’t a Bender and therefore couldn’t spar with him, so I put on a couple punching pads and readied myself.

“I can’t-believe-that woman,” he muttered between punches, “making me do her dirty work, just queening around!”

I drew back the pads and burst out laughing and his next swing set him off-balance as he hadn’t actually hit anything and he fell to his knees. “Natsu, do you know what queening is?”

“No…” he looked thoroughly embarrassed.

“Maybe don’t use it in reference to abusing royal power.”

He got up and rubbed the dirt off his knees. “Hey! I have a right to abuse royal power, I’m a royal too ya know, anyway what does it mean?”

“I’m sure you’ll learn someday.” I lifted the pads again. “Go.”

He started kicking the pads, muttering about the queen again, and using more force behind each jab until finally he incorporated some Airbending and Firebending at the same time and knocked one of the pads right off me.

“I think I could use a break! You letting off steam is starting to hurt,” I took off the other pad and shook my wrist, “a lot.”

“Sorry…”

Pabu scurried over to get our attention. Natsu and I turned to see what he was trying to get us to notice: it was Mako and Bolin, looking dishevelled and, if I’m being honest, a little greasy.

“Oh, were we a little greasy? I’m sorry. I didn’t know that we weren’t up to par, we had spent a night in the streets!” Bolin says, waving his arms around in his usual theatrical manner. “And thanks for missing us. Means a lot.”

“You know what I mean!” I realize he’s just poking fun and I laugh with him.

He sips his tea and cocks his head. “Seriously, what’s queening?”

With news that the Queen was kidnapping new Airbenders and training them for her army, and four criminals who were imprisoned thirteen years ago for attempting to kidnap Natsu had escaped, Team Avatar was back in action.

“It’s a little weird, but I’ve missed this kind of excitement.” Natsu told me as we took a break while trying to figure out how we were going to free the Airbenders. “Searching for Airbenders is fun but I miss danger.”

I nodded. “Don’t let Jinora hear you. She’s worried sick about Kai.”

“True. How are we going to get them out?”

I sighed. “Well, we have two airships now that Lin’s here. We have a flying bison. We could use Jinora to keep an eye out for guards if she projects her spirit into the encampment.”

“She’s too young, Sami.” It was the first time he used a nickname for me.

“Aang and Katara were around her age when they set off to defeat the Firelord. Toph was even younger. Jinora is wise beyond her years, it’s nothing she can’t handle.”

Hee was sitting on the kitchen counter of the guesthouse and swinging his legs. He looked away from me and watched his feet for a few seconds. “Let’s go back to the airship idea. You and Lin could wait for our signal and take the airships to meet us and the Airbenders above ground so as to make a quick escape.”

“Okay, but how do you plan on breaking in and letting them out?” You’re just going to tip-toe in and hope for the best?”

“Sounds about right.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, Avatar, you’ll have to keep me posted on the radio.”

“Without a doubt.” He leapt off the counter and patted my shoulder. “We make good partners in crime.”

Natsu was right. Finding the Airbenders was definitely rewarding but there was something fantastic about Team Avatar breaking rules and sneaking about again. It was thrilling and anxiety-inducing and gratifying all at the same time.

“This is Natsu, come in Partner in Crime.”

_ You’re joking around during a rescue mission? _ “Yes?”

“We got them but Mako, Bolin, and Jinora are still searching for Kai. Bring in the airships.”

I paged Lin and we made our way there within a couple of minutes. They were hidden under the scaffolding of the new temple but there was something on the scaffolding itself, waiting…

_ It’s the Dai Li. _

He made a move and I couldn’t warn him in time. I paged Lin. “Now what?”

“Move in. We need to get to them so we can leave immediately.” She had been more stiff-necked than usual since the mysterious Zaheer and his friends had broken out of prison. She was insistent that Natsu leave the city immediately to a safer location but Natsu was relentless. He wasn’t going to turn his back on the Airbenders and he certainly wasn’t going to turn his back on Kai.

We lowered ships and helped some of the Airbenders on as Natsu and Tenzin fended off the Dai Li. “We need to move out,” Lin said, “now.”

I waited until Natsu got onto my ship and followed Lin’s orders. She hadn’t told us which ‘safer location’ we were headed to in case any Dai Li agents overheard, considering after we broke out the Airbenders we would likely be enemies of the state and the Queen wouldn’t necessarily mind helping Zaheer get his hands on Natsu.

Natsu let himself into the command room and closed the door behind him. “Did we get Kai and the others?”

_ Spirits. We forgot about the boys and Kai and Jinora. _ “No. Lin told me to move out as soon as you were on my ship.”

I turned on autopilot and we ran to the windows. Dia Li agents were still trying to shoot down the ship by throwing massive pieces of earth at us. More were chasing Mako, Bolin, Jinora and Kai and they were dangerously outnumbered.

“Wait, Tenzin's on Oogi. He can get them.” I assured him.

Sure enough, with a burst from the ground, Bolin projected them into the air and onto Oogi. We had everybody. Natsu leaned back from the window and whistled. “Thank Spirits. I could use a nap right about now.”

I motioned towards the chair I could have been sitting in. “Go for it. I’ll watch over you and wake up when we get there.”

He curled up and rested his head on his chin. “Thanks, Sami.”

“Anytime, partner.” I said in a cowboy accent. He chuckled, and within seconds was snoring softly.


	6. TIPSY AND SLEEPY

After our first night together I couldn’t imagine sleeping without him somewhere near me. Although Su had given us all our own rooms during our stay in Zaofu, I only spent one night in mine. Natsu was comfortable and fun and he ignited something within me that I hadn’t felt before. Something that I wanted to be engulfed in flames that led me to, and from, Mako. I felt it spark within me whenever I tried working on a prototype for the first time or whenever I kissed a stranger on a night out during my somewhat rebellious phase when I turned seventeen. I could still picture the potential headlines (had I been caught): Heiress to Future Industries Caught Getting Friendly with a Mystery Man!

After I would sneak back into the estate I would be worried sick that I had been seen. What if someone was able to catch a picture? What if I kissed a paparazzi in disguise? What would dad think? What would happen to the company?

_ Dad obviously didn’t care about the company. _ I got angry and wanted to sneak out into the city again, to flirt my way to a couple drinks and a few stolen kisses, only to run off leaving him turned on. But there was nowhere to go in Zaofu. Every night the city would go into lockdown under giant, impenetrable sheets of metal that closed over sections of the town the way a tulip closes after a sunset.

But in Zaofu I had something much more exciting than the act of secretly defying my father. I had Natsu. I had a friend to laugh and cry and sleepily cuddle with, I had someone to spill my secrets to.

_ Well, not all your secrets. _

It got to the point that Natsu expected my company every night. He started leaving his door open just a crack so I wouldn’t have to wake anyone by knocking, but I’m sure our tired laughs and loud whispers did the trick. One night I snuck sidecar ingredients out of the kitchen and into Natsu’s room.

He turned and raised an eyebrow. “Uh, is there a banana in your pocket or are you excited to see me?” he joked around and chuckled.

“Spirits, Natsu, it’s the ingredients I promised you.” Although, mind you, I was excited to see him. Placed the bottles and a couple glasses on his desk and started mixing. “You’re going to like it.”

“You’re sure? I’ve never drank before.”

I handed him a drink and put my hand to my heart. “Oh, my sweet, innocent child! How is it that the master of all four elements, who’s a hybrid of a Saiyan and a First One, and the Dragon Prince has never had a drink before?”

“I am very focused on my training, Miss Sato. How is it that the heiress of an incredibly successful company has never been caught drunk and disorderly?”

“That’s a great question,” I said, and clinked my glass to his. “Drink up. Take it slow, though, I don’t want you to get ridiculous.”

He shuddered after a little sip. It was kind of amusing to see the self-described hot-headed Avatar, who had defeated Amon and saved the world during Harmonic Convergence, irked at just a sip of cocktail. “Huh, I expected it to be a little more than just a little burning sensation. Still it’s actually kind of nice.”

“You’ll get used to it. It just takes a little practice.”

He sat cross-legged on his floor and took another sip. “I can’t believe you used to sneak out. Here I was thinking you were prudish.”

I sat across from him and tucked my legs to my side like the prudish lady he presumed me to be. “And I thought you were a badass.”

“What do you even do when you go out? LIke what happens?” he wanterbended his drink into a circle just above his head and let it drip into his mouth.

I finished my drink and went to pour another one. “You dance. You find a nice-looking boy and you dance close with him and he buys you drinks. Or in your case, you find a hot girl and flirt around a bit. You kiss a bit. Sometimes you go back to his place and you can guess the rest.”

“I didn’t know you could dance!” he let his drink fall back into his cup and took another sip. “I didn’t know you fooled around, either.”

“I could teach you.”

“How to… you know??”

“No, Natsu, how to dance!” I offered my hand and he took it. “Now, I’ll show you how to lead since you’re taller. Just try to follow me.”

He held my waist a little too tightly and I rested my hand on his back.  _ Is he nervous? _ He looked from our feet then up so that he could see my eyes. “Shouldn’t we have music?”

“Do you have music?”

“No.”

I started humming. “We’ll start off slow, okay?”

Surprisingly, he picked it up pretty fast. I assumed being light on your feets as an Airbender and being fluid to change as a Waterbender helped. His shoulder and his back however, was as stiff as earth. I didn’t mind. He was new at this and it takes time to learn. I learned however, that other than ballroom (Slow-dancing) he was a pretty skilled dancer in general.

I had my hair down and swirled over my back and shoulders as we spun around and around. My robe tickled my thighs as it was swept by the air and I guessed it might have tickled against his, too, because we were close and he was wearing shorts. His hand started to get a little clammy in mine, his cheeks a little pink and his brow furrowed in concentration. “Relax, Natsu, it’s a dance. Not an Earthbending technique.”

“You’re so elegant, Asami. I never noticed how fancy you are.” He chuckled and pulled away for a sip of his drink. “Not that you don’t seem fancy, you do! I just dind;t know how fancy you were. I’m impressed.”

I sat on his bed and sipped my drink. “I wouldn’t call sneaking out and fooling around with strangers, fancy.”

He sat down next to me and rubbed my arm. “Well, it’s not vulgar, either. It's Just something that people do in the city.”

“The city? What, is there nothing to do in the South Pole?”

He shrugged. “There’s stuff to do, but you can’t really fool around all that much. There’s not a lot of privacy.”

“So...you never fooled around until you got to Republic City?” No way that the Avatar never fooled around until this past year.

He laughed and looked at his feet. “It’s really embarrassing but even when I was with Lisanna, I never took it to the next level. Correction: I didn’t want to take it to the next level. It just didn’t feel right.”

_ Oh, Spirits, the poor guy. _ “Oh dear.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought her up,” he scooted back to lean on the headboard, “not like in a sex way I guess.”

“Pyro, it’s totally okay.” It was the first time I used a nickname for him. “We’re both over them and we’re best friends.”

“I’m sorry that Mako was your first time.” He said with a bit of a laugh.

I laughed. “He wasn’t too bad. He’s above average but I’ve definitely had better. There’s better sex out there though.”

He finished his drink and tried to put it on the bedside table but it slipped out of his hand. He laughed “I wouldn’t know. Wait! Not what I meant! I mean not with Mako.”

I laughed, got up and put our glasses on his desk. “I’m sure you’ll find out.”

“What, like queening?” He was definitely tipsy and light-headed.

I shook my head as I laughed. “Something like that. Here, drink some water before we go to bed.”

He took the glass from my hand and chugged it. “Sami?”

I climbed into bed next to him and brushed his hair out of his face. “Yeah?”

“I really like you.”

It wasn’t just my heart that throbbed. “I really like you too, Natsu.”  _ Kiss him. Kiss him! _

And I would have, too, but he was tipsy and half asleep and I couldn’t. That was no way to treat a person. That was certainly no way to treat a best friend. I wished him goodnight and rolled over, brimming with confusion and a bit of self-hatred.  _ This is just what it feels like to have a best friend, _ I told myself,  _ you just feel this way because you’ve never had a best guy friend before. _

There was a tiny little light that wouldn’t get larger no matter how close I tried to get to it. I extended my arms, feeling for a wall to guide me, but there was nothing. I took a couple small steps to make sure it wasn’t a trap. It was just a cold floor.  _ Why am I not wearing shoes? _

I started to jog. The floor was getting colder, so cold that it started to hurt my feet. I ran. My feet started to stick to the floor. They were stuck to the floor. I couldn’t move. The light was dimming. It was singing. It was asking me to come closer and touch, “Save me”, it called, “Save me, Asami.”

It was Natsu

“Pyro? Natsu!” I howled. I was tangled in sheets and shivering.

His arms found mine and held them down. “Sami, it’s me! It’s me. It’s okay, just sit still, you’ll hurt yourself.”

I lowered my arms as my panting levelled out. My hands were in fists.  _ You’re okay. Just another nightmare. _

“There you go, you’re okay. What happened?” his hands were originally grasping my wrists but he moved them to hold my fingers.

“I’m so-” I breathed “It was so cold. You were in trouble and I froze, I was frozen to the floor, I couldn’t get to you but you sounded hurt.”

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re safe. We’re in the safest city in the world, remember? Nothing happened. We’re together and we’re safe.” He held my face and I finally made eye contact with him. “Are you still cold? I’ll hold you.”

I laid back down. “I’m sorry.”

He held me and stroked my hair. “It’s okay. Get some sleep.”

I woke up in Natsu’s arms and noticed the sunlight seeping through the curtains and stretching across the floor. The blankets were pulled all the way up under my chin and I could feel his heartbeat by my ear. He was still asleep and snoring ever so slightly. I took his hand in mine and moved closer to him to keep myself warm. It was nice to wake up having somebody wrapped around you without having to deal with morning wood poking you in the btt. And yet, I felt guilt. The butterflies in my stomach started churning. My heart went from fluttering, to pounding so hard my rib cage felt like it was pulsating.  _ If I don’t get this under control he’s going to wake up and ask what’s wrong and I’m going to have to tell him, and he’s not going to take it well and that’ll be the end of our friendship. _

But he just slid his arm up from the curve between my rib cage and my hip to around my bicep, keeping his hand in mine, and it fell just in front of my face so that my lips grazed his finger. I rubbed my nose against them. He squeezed my hand in return.

“Did you sleep okay?” He asked.

“Never slept better.”  _ Thank the Spirits. _ “I felt so safe.”

“You’re so cozy,” he pulled me even closer to him, “we should snuggle more often.” Noticing what he just said and panicked while saying, “If that’s okay with you. I mean, if it makes you feel safe. I don’t want to have trouble sleeping. You need sleep. Going without sleep is really unhealthy and we can’t afford to get Team Avatar sick, ya know.”

I let out a small sigh of relief, realized that would sound weird, and giggling a bit. “I’m more than okay with that. What time is it?”

“Probably time we get up and get breakfast with everyone.”

We spent ten minutes in bed together before begrudgingly clawing out of the sheets to freshen up and change into clothes. We somehow arrived at breakfast before Bolin, who was usually the first there, considering his stomach acted as his alarm clock. We did, however, arrive after Lin and Su, and the tension in the room was asphyxiating.

“Lin, you have let your anger fester inside of you for thirty years. It’s unhealthy and it’s making you lash out. I wish you would just talk this out.”

“There is nothing to talk about. You know where you went wrong. But you have no idea what a toll it took on Mom because you weren’t there.”

“I had to leave!”

Natsu coughed and Su immediately smiled. “Natsu, Asami. Glad you’re finally awake, it’s almost noon. Opal is very excited to start her training.”

“I didn’t realize how late it was…” Natsu mumbled.

“And I’m sure Varrick would love to go over some designs…” Su added.

I crossed my arms. “Absolutely not. I refuse to do business with him ever again, that slimy, scheming-”

Natsu elbowed me. I had forgotten that Su firmly believed in forgiveness. Especially forgiving criminals.

_ I don’t think I’ll ever understand that. _


	7. Relationships

I was in my room for the first time since our first night in Zaofu. I had neglected looking over blueprints and sketching designs for what felt like years and needed to get back in the swing of it. Varrick kept trying to squeeze himself back into the company and I was trying my best not to snap at him. Even though his reputation wasn’t great at the moment, if word got out that the new CEO of Future Industries attacked Varrick, the company would be down the drain. Again. And I didn’t know if I would be able to pull it back up a second time.

That being said, I seriously considered handing the company over to somebody else in order to work full-time with Team Avatar, but quickly realized how ridiculous that would be. I had narrowly escaped bankruptcy and needed money to survive. I needed to keep the prototypes rolling so Team Avatar could use the best and newest technologies whenever needed. I needed to prove to my father that I could do just fine, and maybe even better, without him.

_ I can’t let bitterness fuel me. I am continuing with the company because I get enjoyment out of being a designer and a businesswomen. And because I’m almost broke. _

“Hey, Asami.”

I nearly jumped right out of my seat. I was so focused I didn’t hear the door open. “Spirits, Mira, a knock would be nice.”

“Sorry.” She closed the door behind her and leaned against my wall the way Mako used to and the way Natsu still does. “What’s going on between you and Natsu?”

“Excuse me?”

“Asami, I’m a woman like you, I can tell when a couple of teenagers are hiding something. This is the first time I’ve seen you in this room since we got here. You can talk to me, you know.”

I gulped, but stood up to face her. “We’ve been hanging out a lot, that’s all.”

“You’re pretty determined, Asami, I’ll give you that,” she scoffed, stepping closer to me, “but you can talk to me about it, I’m like a big sister to both you and Natsu, you know that.”

“I get that.” I said. “But, what are you talking about?”  _ You know exactly what she’s talking about. But wait, how long has she known…? _

“I don’t mind covering for you two every now and then. I know the feeling. But if I have to spend time on the job keeping you two at arms distance from each other just so that he can get some work done I’m going to be real unimpressed, and I trust you don’t want that.”

It was true. She had gotten really angry earlier on over cake because the guys were just fooling around and knocked the cake she was eating on the ground. She flipped out and used her Satan Soul magic and attacked Mako, Bolin, Elfman and Natsu. She was strong enough to take on Natsu. I certainly don’t want to be on the receiving end of an angered Mirajane Strauss. Ever. “What are you suggesting?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.

“Business before ‘hanging out’, Asami.” She used air quotes at “hanging out” and my face flushed. “Thought so.”

The door closed quietly behind her and I could hear her heal clink as she walked down the hallway.

Mira put me so on edge that I slept in my own room that night. I hated it. I had to lie to Natsu about why I couldn’t sleep in his room and I think he could tell that there was something that I wasn’t telling him. I couldn’t risk it, though. I couldn’t let myself feel this way for Natsu. He was a friend, that’s all, nothing more - nothing less, and me “hanging out” with him was starting to go too far. I shouldn’t have told him about my nightmares. I shouldn’t have slept in his bed. I shouldn’t have rubbed my nose against his hand when he moved closer to me.

_ But he put his hand there. Maybe he feels the same way. _

“I think I need to reflect.” I told him outside his room after everyone had retired for the night. “What Opal said earlier about how family members shouldn’t hurt each other really hit a nerve for me.”

It wasn’t a lie, either, I really did need to think. But I could have easily reflected on it in bed with Natsu. Truth be told I really wanted to talk to Natsu about it. I hadn’t really spoken about my father since that night at the police station. I swept it under the rug. I let it fester.

He nodded in agreement but looked a little disappointed. "I totally understand. Don’t be a stranger if you change your mind.”

It turned out to be one of the dumbest decisions I had ever made. It took hours for me to fall asleep, and not long after I finally drifted off I heard Mako and Bolin causing a ruckus outside.

_ Really? In the middle of the night? Is it Worldwide Fight Your Sibling Week? _

I rolled back over and closed my eyes again.

“Let him go!” Mako shouted, and I saw a burst of fire from the window.

My stomach dropped.  _ It’s Natsu. _

I sprung out from the bed and ran outside towards the boys. A couple of spotlights were on what I presumed to be the group of recently-escaped prisoners. One of them had Natsu over his Shoulder.

A tall woman with an eye tattooed on her forehead scowled at the spotlights and it burst into flames, the second spotlight followed suit seconds after.

Giant metal plates flew from the walls surrounding us and enclosed the group. Lin was yelling for them to surrender as she Metalbended.

“Natsu’s still in there with them.” I whispered.

I couldn’t register any of the commotion around me. The ground was melting and blocked us from getting to them. Su was insisting that Bolin pitch a rock at the tall woman’s third eye to stun her so she and Lin could move in.

Bo couldn’t get a clean shot but Lin and Su were descending from above on cables anyway. He threw another rock and hit her forehead. She screamed.

Lin grabbed Natsu and began the ascent. His body was limp. It wasn’t until the woman with water arms tried to grab Lin’s foot that I felt the rage start to burn up in my stomach. Natsu managed to burn the water before it could reach them.  _ I’m surprised that in the state that he was in, he was even able to bend. _ The Airbender flew at them and Su shot him down with a few shards of metal.

He landed with the rest of the criminals. There was a whirlwind of air, and they were gone.

I walked with Natsu as he was carried back into the estate. “I’m not sleeping without you ever again,” I whispered. He may have been heavily sedated but I’m still sure I saw him give me a tiny smile.

“Man, I forgot how much those guys were capable of.” Bo says from the couch. “They were so determined that it was scary and kind of inspiring.”

“Inspiring?” I scoffed. “They almost killed Natsu. That wasn’t inspiring, it was terrifying.”

“But they risked everything.”

I picked up Pabu and stroked him. “As if we didn’t?”

“We definitely risked more.” He says. “We risked Natsu and that could have ruined everything. Like, really everything. Everything in the world, everything.”

“I know.”

Natsu led the way past Su and towards our bedrooms. “Pack only what you need,” he whispered to the brothers, “and meet at the Jeep that Su is loaning us in ten minutes.”

After the attempted kidnapping, Natsu was hell-bent on finding whoever had let the criminals into the city. He spent hours interrogating guards with Aiwei when he led him to believe it was a younger guard that was born and raised in the city. Natsu realized that it couldn’t have been a younger guard that had never left Zaofu. How would he have gotten in contact with or even known about these criminals?

So, naturally, we snuck into Aiwei’s house to look for clues and found a secret tunnel. He showed up and, long story short, escaped through the tunnel and blew up the house to erase any evidence.

Natsu insisted on hunting him down, Lin, Su and Mira all said no, and I fully expected another fight to break out because, hey, that’s all that ever happened since our arrival. But instead Su and Mira saw us afterwards gave us the key to a Jeep, and told us to find Aiwei. Su wanted him almost as badly as Natsu did.

I changed out of my skirt, threw on my jacket and pants, and shoved a couple of maps, some lipstick, and my equalizer glove into a bag and went to knock on Natsu’s door. He was already walking down the hallway to meet me. “I missed your Team Avatar, badass, don’t mess with Asami Sato outfit. Don’t get me wrong, the skirt is cute, but you look-”

“Snazzy?” I winked as I held the door open for him.

“Actually, kind of hot.” We made it to the Jeep before the brothers did. “Can you drive the Jeep? I’ll take Naga to track Aiwei’s scent. We’re going to need to travel until daylight, he’s probably covered a lot of ground by now.”

“Absolutely. I brought a couple of maps in case we get lost, but I have a feeling this won’t take long. Once we catch him we’ll head right back and hand him over to Su. She’ll see to it that he’s brought to justice.”

Bolin came running with a massive backpack. “Road trip! I brought snacks, don’t worry, we won’t go hungry.” Mako sauntered behind him with nothing.

“Alright, well, throw your stuff in the back.” I told him as I buckled into the driver’s seat and put the key in the ignition. “Get in. We need to leave.”

Natsu hopped onto Naga and they were off. I had to floor it to catch up with them. Bolin immediately broke out his snacks and offered them to us, but Mako was silent and I was too focused on driving. Being behind the wheel again was almost as good as being back in the workshop. The Jeep didn’t have any windows, or a roof, but I didn’t mind. The cold air kept me alert. Bolin, of course, fell asleep within an hour but Mako stayed as awake as he was quiet.

“What’s up with you lately?” I asked as it neared four in the morning. “I know you’re still moving on from you and Lisanna but you’ve been so off, especially around Natsu and I, and I’m worried about you.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he growled. I didn’t push further. In dating him I learned that if he wanted to talk, he’d talk, but you could never get anything out of him by prying. He had to be the one to speak first.

We drove in silence for another hour and the sky started to get light. The kind of light where you can’t really see the sun yet because it’s still low in the horizon, but everything turns a pink colour for a few moments before the sun peeks at the world to say good morning, and the sky becomes blue again.

Mako shuffled and crossed his arms. “I’m sorry I’ve been so off. I guess it’s just weird for me to see my ex-girlfriend and my best friend got along so well. I feel kind of forgotten.”

“Neither of us are going to forget you, Mako.” I assured him as Naga started to slow down.  _ She lost the scent. _ “You made me feel safe at a time that I was more vulnerable than ever before. And from what Natsu’s told me, you’re the best friend he’s ever had.”

“You talked about me? When? What did you say?”

Naga stopped and Natsu jumped off her. I killed the engine. “Only good things!”

He made eye contact with me for the first time in what might have been weeks, or months. “For real?”

“Of course, Mako. Sure, you kissed Lisanna while she was going out with Natsu and you with me and I kissed you after Natsu and her broke up and you two got together, but that’s all water under the bridge. Don’t flatter yourself by thinking that Lisanna and I sworn enemies just because we fought for your attention months ago. You’re a great guy and we’re both gerat girls but it didn’t work out. That happens. Move on. Team Avatar needs you and you’re no help if you’re brooding over girls you once lusted after.” I got out and slammed the door behind me.

Bolin jolted. I had completely forgotten he was asleep. “Good morning to you, too!”

I ignored him and approached Natsu. “Did she lose the scent?”

“No, I think she found something.” He slid a boulder out of the way as Mako and Bolin approached us to reveal hiding a Jeep behind it. “Good girl, Naga!”

Mako mumbled something about going into town to ask around about Aiwei and Bolin immediately suggested disguise and side stories. “We can go with you? I offered as he threw yellow raincoats over Mako and himself.

“You stay here in case he comes back.” Mako said, as he meandered towards town. Bolin followed, chirping about some backstory about a war and a girl.

Natsu was sitting on a boulder with his back to me. I immediately started to search the other Jeep and expected him to join, but he stayed put. He seemed scared, so I asked, “You alright?”

“What do they want with me?” he didn’t turn around.

I opened the glovebox and found a note about a rendezvous. “I don’t know, but I think I found a clue?” He jumped off the boulder and came to my side as I read it aloud. “Xia Bau’s grove, sundown.”

He handed me a map and a few Spirits danced around. I shooed them away to see the map batter, but Xia Bau’s grove wasn’t anywhere to be found.  _ How is it that Aiwei’s scent is here but Xia Bau’s grove isn’t? _

Mako came back. “We found Aiwei at an inn.”

And so the stakeout began. We managed to get the room directly across from Aiwei’s thanks to Bolin’s celebrity status as a mover star. It was cramped and smelly and boring. Bolin and I spent a few hours playing Pai Sho.

“I remember that!” Bo interrupts (AGAIN!). “You know, I’m still waiting on Natsu to standardize the rules.”

“I’m sure he’ll get around to doing it, Bo.”

Around sundown Natsu lost his patience. He waltzed right into Aiwei’s room and we found him. Meditating. The Spirits dancing around the map, the meditation…

“Xia Bau’s grove isn’t in the physical world. It’s in the Spirit World,” he sat cross-legged on Aiwei’s bed opposite him. “I’m going in after him. Watch over my body.”

We waited a few more hours and I didn’t take my eyes off him. Bolin paced around the room and made Naga nervous. I stroked her head, still watching Natsu, as Mako stayed near the window. Bolin peered through the curtains and gasped. “They found us!”

Sure enough, Water-Arm Lady and Lavaman were outside. Mako grabbed Natsu’s body and sat him on Naga. “You get him out of here, we’ll stay and hold them off.”

I took that as an olive branch and climbed onto Naga. We burst out the room, Mako and Bolin on our heels and I heard the fight begin. I wrapped my arm tighter around him and begged Naga to go faster. Natsu had been gone for a couple of hours and I was really starting to worry.

_ What if he’s stuck there? _

_ Stop worrying. It’s Natsu. He’s survived worse. _

I didn’t look back until I approached trees. The town was at least a mile behind me. If they had gotten past the brothers I would have known by now. We were safe. We would head back to Zaofu and tell Su, Mira, Elfman and Lisanna everything and wait for the brothers to return. I kissed his cheek.

_ I don’t just love him. I’m in love with him. _

The ground rumbled below us and a wall of earth burst out the ground to block our path. I turned Naga only to face another wall, and another, and another. We were trapped. Naga was whimpering and Natsu was still lifeless.

“You’re not taking him without me!” the words echoed off the walls. This time I wasn’t just going to watch. I was going to protect Natsu or I was going to die trying.


	8. FIRST KISS

Natsu was screaming at the guards to release him. We had been held in the dark camp for so long that the light was a little too bright for me. It took a second, but after my eyes adjusted, I recognized what was in front of us: a Cabbage Corps’ airship. I had never been so excited to see that somebody had chosen another company over Future Industries.

We were led onto the ship and into another dark chamber. I was originally meant to be chained to the floor, but I flirted my way to be chained onto a bar on the wall. I had studied Cabbage Corps’ ships in order to make Future Industries even better, and if I remembered correctly and I do, Cabbage Corps’ used cheap material and shoddy workmanship. I could easily rip the bar out and free myself.

So I did. Then I ripped open the flooring, snuck behind the guy I flirted with, knocked him out, and stole his keys to free Natsu. He ripped the mask off his face and threw it to the ground. “Let’s take control of this airship.”

By take control, he meant nearly destroy it. We crash-landed in the desert and had to build a makeshift sand-sailor to get to civilization.

“You know,” I said as I jumped off the sailor and followed him to the bar, “we make a pretty good team.”

He nudged me with his elbow. “What, you’re just figuring that out now?”

And then we heard another familiar voice, two of them, actually. It was the Bending brothers. They were okay. But they had a message for Natsu from Zaheer. He was headed to the Northern Air Temple to wipe out the new Airbenders. He would only leave them be if, and only if, Natsu gave himself up to him.

It was about an hour before sunrise. I walked into the radio room, figuring Natsu would be in there, waiting for any new word about the Airbenders. “You should get some rest. We’re battling Zaheer tomorrow, so you’re going to need whatever energy you can get.”

“How am I supposed to fall asleep? The Air Nation has been nearly extinct for almost two hundred years. It can’t be eradicated again. We can’t sit around and wait for another Harmonic Convergence and hope that it brings more Airbenders ten thousand years from now. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop worrying about them. Not to mention Mira, Elfman and Lisanna are there with them.”

I sat down next to him at the table and took his hand in mine. “Worrying is a waste of imagination, Natsu. It won’t change anything. I’m worried sick about what might happen tomorrow but at the end of the day worrying won’t save the Airbenders.”  _ I’m worried about what might happen to you. _

He rested his head upon my shoulder and sighed. “‘I’m worried about you. I’m worried about all of you. None of you have to do this, it’s my job. I can’t put you in danger.”

“As if we’re going to let you walk right up to Zaheer and let him do whatever he wants with you? Absolutely not. Of course this is your job, of course this is a sticky situation, and of course none of us have to be there, but we want to. We’re not about to lose you.”

“I love you too, Asami.” He squeezed my hand the same way he had the other morning, before the Red Lotus tried to kidnap him. “I’m scared.”

I tried not to let a tear slip out of my eye and down my cheek but it happened anyway. “I’m scared, too.”

“What happens if this is my end? What happens if I don’t make it?”

“Don’t talk like that.” My voice cracked.

He lifted his head and looked at me. “This is what comes with the job, Sami, it could happen. It has to happen eventually.”

“No,” the tears were now flowing, “it’s not going to happen. They’ll have to kill me first. They’ll have to get through all of us first.”

He shook his head, his eyes now watering at the sight of my tears. “You don’t have to do that.”

I got up and started running my hands through my hair.  _ Don’t pick your nails. Don’t get anxious. _ “Yes, Natsu, I do. In fact, I’m going to!”

“Not so loud,” he shushed as he stood, “you’ll wake everybody.”

“I’m not leaving you.” He wiped a tear off my cheek with his thumb. My breathing slowed back to normal and our eyes met. He shook his head. “I’m not-”

I didn’t let him finish. I kissed him.

And he kissed me back, a little hesitant at first. Our lips parted for a quick second and we breathed each other in before he kissed the corner of my mouth. I gasped and he pulled me in closer, before finally sitting back down onto the chair and pulling me onto his lap, our lips messily pressed together. I straddled his as he put one hand on the small of my back and another between my shoulder blades. I caught a glimpse of my lipstick smudged across his mouth.

“I’m not leaving you…” he said between kisses, “I’m not leaving you.”


	9. ASAMI ALONE (Part 1)

**“** Wait a second, you gotta clear something up for me. If you and Natsu already kissed, why are you so worried about you two? It’s obvious you love each other. Just go kiss him again.”

I sigh. “It’s not that simple, Bo. I don’t think he remembers.”

“What?” he throws his hands in the air, “how does someone forget their first kiss? That never happens. Ever. He definitely remembers, you just need to tell him, and you’ll be together forever.”

“He forgot that he broke up with Lisanna after he was eaten by that giant Spirit thing in the ocean, remember? And you saw what Zaheer’s poison did to him. I’m surprised he remembered any of us.”  _ Besides, if he remembered, why wouldn’t he make a move? _

He starts Bending a crystal on my coffee table to spin right in front of my face. “He remembered after a while, though. He confronted her about it. He lost his memory for a bit but it came back. Who’s to say it won’t come back again? Who’s to say he ever forgot?”

I snatch the crystal out of the air and roll it between my palms. “I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to approach it. I don;t know how to ask. I don’t know if he forgot entirely of if he vaguely remembers it.”

“Only one way to find out.” He shrugs.

Ten months later I decided I needed to talk to somebody. I needed to get everything off my chest but I couldn’t just lean on anyone. Talking to Mkao would probably blow up in my face, he’d ask if he wasn’t man enough for me, he would sure that I was only ever with him because I wanted to be near Natsu, and I couldn’t hurt him like that. If I talk to Lis (Lisanna) about this, she would only accuse me for trying to get close to her EX-Boyfriend. So somehow I end up talking to both of them.

“He’s not an easy person to move on from,” she told me over lunch one day, “I think part of me will always love him.”

_ He’s mine _ , I wanted to say, but I bit my lip and picked at my nails. “Do you think you’ll ever get back together again?”

“Well, even though Mako cheated on you with me, I didn’t want to go through with it at all. I don’t want to admit it but… I still love Natsu. We were good for each other, but I guess all that drama with Mako, Natsu wanted to end it. But I still think we’ll be able to get back together.” There was a radio dispatch and Mako had to leave lunch early, something about infiltrating the Triads, and I spoke to him again for a few weeks. Soon after Lis had to leave because she had to help her brother with a job request.

Sometimes I would head to Air Temple Island and chat with Pema over a couple pots of tea. I really enjoyed her company, and she quickly became a mother figure to me, so I considered confiding in her. But every time I went to visit I couldn’t quite spit it out.

Finally, I called Mira. “You remember what you said a couple years ago about Natsu and I, something about covering for us because you knew something was going on because you’re a woman like me?”

“Congrats, Asami, You found true love. You do realize this is my job request phone, right? How did you even get this number?”

“Mira, I don’t know If I am. I mean… I love Natsu but not in the same way as I love a friend.”

She sighed. “So, you found your true love. I know you didn’t feel this way about Mako when you started dating him.”

“Mira, I don’t know what to do, I miss him and I feel like the old prototypes that never came to be anything collecting dust in my workshop,” I guess because I had held it in for so long that once I partially released the pressure valve everything poured out of all at once, “I’m in love with him and I haven’t heard from him in over a year. I don’t know.”

“Let what love you have for him push you to work hard and create.”

I thought of all the times that Mira had protected Laxus and Tenzin’s family and realized exactly what she meant. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Can I get back to the mission now?”

“Tell Lis and Elfman that I said hello.”

“Will do.”

I whipped out my pencils and blueprint papers and tied my hair in a ponytail. There was a park in the city that still didn’t have a name and I was going to dedicate a section of it to Natsu. There was a statue of Aang that overlooked Republic City, not to mention, a massive Statue of the previous Dragon King, Natsu’s father. So why shouldn’t there be a statue of Natsu? It would be a bit of a jab to Raiko, too, for kicking him out of the city after all the “trouble” he caused. I would incorporate Spirit vines in the park too, there would be a fountain, it would be a relaxing place to escape from the hectic city. People could meditate or practice Bending. Natsu would love it.

SIx months later, when the park was finished, I moved out of the mansion. I couldn’t be there on my own. It felt empty after losing Mom, it felt emptier without Dad, and it was at its emptiest without Team Avatar visiting on a weekly basis. I didn’t earn the mansion myself, it was passed down to me from my lying father who made millions trying to eliminate Bending, and it felt violated after the break-in all those years ago.

But I didn’t sell it. I still needed the workshop and the meeting rooms for business purposes. It just became work instead of home. I needed a place for myself to escape to, a place nobody knew about, a place where people couldn’t reach me and I could be alone. I needed a home.

_ Natsu was my home. _

_ Stop thinking about him. It’s been over a year, you’ve sent a letter every week, and he hasn’t responded. He is not your home. _

So I moved into a studio apartment in the city. Not directly downtown, though, but in a student neighbourhood near a university, which wasn’t too far from Natsu’s park. I envied college kids. They would get their work over with and drink and laugh and screw on the weekends. They got to be adults without adult responsibilities. They got an experience I would never get to have.

In saying that, though, I had some pretty fantastic experiences while they lasted. I travelled the world with Team Avatar. I helped take down Equalists, I was on the front line when the Spirits Portals were opened, I searched for Airbenders and even helped ensure the safety of the new Air Nation. How many college kids could say the same?

I unlocked the door to my apartment and carried in the last of my boxes. Within a couple of days I would be fully moved in. I had already set up the essentials: my bed was made, my kitchen was stocked, and I had a radio to listen to. All I needed to do now was make it my own place. I put the boxes down in what would soon become my living room and went downstairs to the lobby of the building to check my mail. I had asked the post office to forward anything sent to the mansion to here so I wouldn’t have to change my address. This was going to be my secret getaway. I unlocked my mailbox to find a few coupons to local restaurants, a couple letters for the business, and a fairly beaten up envelope without a return address.

I walked back up to my own apartment, throwing the coupons on the kitchen counter as I passed it, and sat on the couch to read whatever was in the envelope. I was from Natsu. He was better physically, but from what I gathered, he was stuck. He couldn’t get into the Avatar state, Lucifero was no help in that situation but was still helping Natsu with his ‘Demon Rehabilitation’ and Dragon Force. But he couldn’t get past what Zaheer had done to him.

_ Of course he’s stuck, he’s sitting in the South Pole while the Earth Kingdom crumbles. Knowing Natsu, he’s probably kicking himself for not being able to help. And, knowing Natsu, he’s not going to stop kicking himself, and that was going to be another obstacle for him to overcome. _

“Please don’t tell the Bending brothers or Mira, Elfman and especially Lis that I wrote to you and not them. I don’t want to hurt their feelings, but it’s easier to tell you about this stuff.”

_ Of course it’s easier to tell me. We’re in love. Stupid Avatar. _

I must have reread the letter a hundred times that night. I kept it in the drawer of my bedside table and read it whenever I had trouble falling asleep. I read it anytime I had a nightmare. Sometimes I brought it to work with me and read it during lunch. Sometimes I would fall asleep clutching the damn letter in my hands. I was pathetic, but I missed him, but before long the letter didn’t smell like him anymore and I had no other option except to try to move on.


	10. ASAMI ALONE (Part 2)

I woke up around ten and I swear the sun had only shone brighter once before: the day that Natsu and I woke up curled up into each other before the incident with Zaheer. But the sunlight seemed appropriate that morning.  _ Today’s the day! _ The city’s new train system, designed by yours truly, was being opened, meaning that Future Industries was officially saved. I had spent the three years dedicating myself to not just saving the company from the brink of bankruptcy, but helping it grow and thrive. Better yet, tonight Natsu was scheduled to arrive back in Republic City.

More than anything I was thankful that I snapped and spoke with Mira. Diverting the energy I had been using to miss Natsu into my work was probably one of the best things to happen to me in a while. While I was thrilled that Future Industries was again a reputable company, I loved being in the workshop. I loved making deals and making better technology. Not to mention, Avatar Natsu’s Park was a huge success. It became a sanctuary to anyone and everyone in Republic City. Mako had called once because he found a group of homeless people camping out there at night, asking what I wanted done with them.

“Let them stay. It’s public property and it’s what Natsu would want.”

I hadn’t heard from him since that one letter. I stopped rereading it so often but it stayed put in my nightstand just in case. But I continued writing little letters to him, not necessarily expecting an answer, but purely so he knew that I was thinking of him and cheering him on during his recovery.

I also started going on dates again. Nothing serious ever came of it, but getting back out there was nice. I couldn’t spend all my time thinking of Natsu. Going on dates with men was eye-opening as the only guy I ever seriously saw was Mako, and that certainly didn’t end well. I had been stuck at the apex of an emotional block but I decided to focus on myself and Future Industries and I was finally feeling happy again.

After the opening ceremony for the new train system I made my way to Air Temple Island. I couldn’t contain my excitement, I felt like my childhood self trying to fall asleep the night before my birthday, and I figured that seeing the Air kids would foster the adrenaline rush in a positive way.

Pema hugged me upon my arrival. “You must be excited for tonight, you haven’t seen your best friend in years!”

I was beaming. “I can’t wait. You have no idea how much I missed him.”

“What kind of tea do you want today, sweetie?”

“Surprise me,” I said as I made my way to the courtyard, “I’m going to go say hello to the Air kids.”

The babies were, if possible, even more enthusiastic than I was. Jinora, usually quiet and contained, was playing around with a couple spirits and singing. Ikki immediately took my hand and started telling me everything she had planned to do with Natsu once he arrived: She would teach Natsu her new dance that incorporated a few Airbending moves, then they would talk about the girls that Natsu was in too and the type of people Ikki was in too, then Natsu was going to braid her hair like a Southern Water Tribe girl, then she and Natsu were going to paint together, I stopped listening after a while. Meelo was showing off his Airbending (as per usual) and bragging about how he couldn’t wait for Natsu and Lisanna to see how manly he had become in the past three years. Lisanna was around the corner and heard everything Meelo was saying.

“I thought you liked Asami, not Big Sis Lisanna!” Ikki let go of my hand and jumped to her feet, while Lisanna walked over to us.  _ Juicy gossip. _

Meelo went a little red in the face. “I am a simple man, I like a lot of ladies. I haven’t lost interest in you pretty lady.” He took Lisannas’ hand and kissed it. He then turned and winked at me. “I haven’t forgotten about you either, beautiful woman.”

Lisanna couldn’t help herself but laugh. I tried my best not to laugh. I didn’t want to make him feel bad, but I also couldn’t let him think anything would happen. “Maybe when you’re a bit older, Meelo!”

Pema called me to say that our tea was ready and we sat at the pavilion looking over the water to watch out for Natsu’s boat. The sun was just starting to set and I was getting nervous. Three years since I last heard his laugh, slept with him, or kissed him. And I didn’t know if he remembered any of it.  _ Thank Spirits that Pema made chamomile tea today. _

“Sweetie, you’re awfully quiet,” she said, pouring me a cup of tea. “Is everything okay?”

I sighed. “I’m excited, but it’s so weird to think about...three years. So much has changed.”

Pema poured herself a cup of tea and set the pot down between us. “Are you nervous to see him again?”

“A little bit.” I admitted. “Three years is a long time. I don’t know if we’ll be able to connect immediately as well as we did before he left, you know? I’m worried it might be a little awkward or uncomfortable at first.” I realized I had been avoiding making eye contact, and instead looking out at the water for any sign of his ship. I took a sip of tea and looked into the cup as I placed it back down on the table in front of me. “Things might never go back to the way they were.”

“You’re right, things likely won’t ever be the same as before.” She must have read the look on my face, because she reached out and took my hand in hers. “No no no, not in a bad way. What I mean to say is that you both have grown a lot in the past three years. Things shouldn’t go back to the way they were before he left. Think about it, if you’ve both taken the past three years to really grow and heal, then things will likely be even better,” she assured me, squeezing my hand. “Anything is possible.”

I blinked a few times and lifted my eyes to look back out onto the water, hoping she wouldn’t notice I was tearing up.  _ You don’t understand _ , I wanted to say. “Wait, what do you mean, anything is possible?”

“You know, I once gave Natsu some advice that I think might help you right now.”

“Oh?” Pema didn’t seem like the kind of person Natsu would ask for advice. Pema was patient and motherly, Natsu was active and always ready to fight.

She chuckled. “It was about you. I remember, while you and Mako were together, Natsu was talking with the children while he was training with them. He said something about Mako being a player and that it might backfire onto you. I told him that he should just be honest with you, like I was with Tenzin and he was dating Lin. Natsu didn’t want to hurt your feelings and so he was a bit hesitant on telling you about Mako and his ‘Player habits’ as he put it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Honesty goes a long way, Asami.” She sipped the rest of her tea and began to lead me inside for dinner. “If you love him you might as well tell him.”

I crossed my arms. “Is there anyone on this team who doesn’t know?”

“Probably Mako, and maybe Meelo. Maybe even Natsu. It’s best that you tell him.” She held the door open for me then cupped her hands to her mouth. “Kids, dinner!”

Meelo and Ikki arrived first, still talking about how Meelo had become ever-so-manly and was ready to swoop Lisanna and I off our feet. Ikki seemed unimpressed. Jinora, Lisanna, Elfman and Mira followed shortly thereafter, a couple of Spirits trailing Jinora, but she shooed them away for dinner. We had barely sat down when one of the Acolytes came in to announce that there was a Southern Water Tribe ship heading towards the Island. My stomach twisted and I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.  _ He’s here. _

I followed the Air kids outside, hanging back a little so I wouldn’t seem too eager. I needed to play it cool. It may be obvious to Pema and Mira but I was going to contain myself. I was fighting back a smile but my stomach was in knots. Half of me couldn’t wait to hug him, the other half wanted to melt right into the dock.

Naga came bounding off the ship first and Tonraq followed. Tenzin greeted him. I couldn’t quite hear, but judging by their faces something wasn’t right.

_ Where is he? _

“Natsu left the South Pole a year ago. He’s written me letters, he said he was here in Republic City.” Tonraq gazed past Tenzin and towards us, as if looking for him, like he was maybe playing a prank on him and would jump out from behind us.

But he didn’t come out of the ship or from behind us.  _ He’s not here. _

It wasn’t long after that that I called Mako to my apartment and ended up naked a short while after. You can put two-and-two together and you get the idea of what happened next. I needed to get my mind off of Natsu and that only idea I could come up with was this.

Bo stopped eating for the first time since he arrived. “YOU-”

“I know.”

“The same night that Natsu didn’t arrive?”

I pinched the inside of my forearm. “Yup.”

“Oof.” He leans back into the couch. “You gotta tell him whether or not you tell him about how madly in love you are. He deserves to know.”

“I know. I just don’t know when.”

“As soon as possible.” I had never seen Bo so serious in my life. “As his best friend he deserves to know that you, and your ex, you know. Then you can worry about confessing you love for him.”

_ So much for overcoming the apex. _


	11. REUNION

“I...hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

I looked up from the magazine that I couldn’t focus on reading and got up. “Only three years!” I took him in my arms and he held me the way he did that night we kissed three years ago. “It’s so good to see you again.”

“You too.” He gave his stupid half-smile.

_ Asami, you’re still holding him! _

_ He’s still holding you too, dummie. _

_ Quick. Say something. _ “And I’m loving the hair!” It just brushed the end of his neck and he somehow managed to look older and handsome at the same time.

He rubbed the back of his neck where his hair grew till. “You do? It’s kinda long for my liking, that and Lis may have left it a bit too long after cutting it. But you’re looking...snazzy as always.”

I pretended I didn’t notice his cheek getting pinker, and took his left hand to lead him into the dinning room. “Come on, Mako and Lis got us a table at the restaurant.”

The day was pretty hectic, considering Mako had to bring Wu along with him to lunch and the kid ended up being kidnapped. We weren’t together ten minutes before we were back in action but it seemed appropriate, and we agreed we wouldn’t have it any other way. We managed to save him and brought him back to the estate where Mako and Bolin’s family had stayed since having to evacuate Ba Sing Se. Grandma Yin seemed more than happy to keep a watchful eye over him.

“You want to learn to drive again?” I joked after we saw to it that Mako and Wu were comfortably settled into the estate, swinging the keys around my finger.

“Yeah, maybe after we stop having to worry about Kuvira.” He slid into the passenger seat while Lis got into the back and I turned the key in the ignition. Our first stop was to drop Lisanna off at her house. And she wasn’t too happy about leaving Natsu and I alone. “Spirits, I missed driving with you.” He said after Lis was out of earshot.

“Only driving? Cool, thanks.” I turned up the radio a bit, knowing Natsu he probably missed hearing the city’s music.

He laughed. “Yup. Just driving. I can’t believe you moved out of the estate, where do you live now?”

“An apartment by a college. Quite close to where your park is, actually.” I glanced at him as we drove through the city and nearly blew through a red light. He had one hand outside the car, letting the wind blow between his fingers. He looked peaceful. I looked away before he could catch me gazing at him. “More importantly, where are you going to live now?”

“Hmm. You know, I didn’t really consider that until now. Probably should’ve planned ahead, huh?”

I turned the car up my street and gulped. “You could always stay at my place. I mean, it’s nothing much, but it’s cute. You’d like it.”

“Asami, you’re too kind, I can’t intrude on your new place.” He rubbed the back of his head to set his hair straight but the wind blew it out of place in seconds. “I’ll have to be up early to train, I would wake you up, plus I keep getting nightmares about Zaheer and those are never fun to deal with-”

I parked the car behind the apartment building. “You dealt with my nightmares, remember? I wouldn’t mind returning the favour.”

“I guess,” he said quietly, looking down at his hands on his lap.

He caught me looking at him and gave that little half-smile of his. “It’ll be fun.” I assured him. “It’ll be like our sleepovers we used to have. And if either of us have a nightmare, we have each other.”

“You’re right.” He sighed, and got out of the car. I followed suit. “And this time we have three years to catch up on. I want to hear everything you’ve been up to.”

I followed him to the door and unlocked it, my stomach sinking a little bit as I remembered that night with Mako. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I let him into the apartment first and shut the door behind us. “Make yourself at home.”

He dropped his bag on the couch and walked to the standing screen I’d placed between the bed and the window. “What’s this for?”

“Just for a bit of privacy. I like having the curtains open but I don’t like the idea of people seeing me in my own bed.”

He walked past the screen to look out the window. “Is that my park?”

“It sure is,” I said joining him, standing just close enough but with a few inches between us so I wouldn’t make him uncomfortable.  _ Or maybe I should stand closer because this much space is weird? Or is this not enough space? Should I step further away? Spirits, Asami, relax. Say something before it gets weird. _ “I spent a lot of time there while you were gone.”  _ That’s weird! _

But he smiled. “Can we sneak in tonight?”  _ Phew. _ “And drink sidecars?” He asked looking down into my eyes.

“Anything for you, Avatar.”

He chuckled and nudged me with his elbow. I nudged him back. Before I even had the opportunity to overthink that action, he spun round and hugged me tight, wrapping his arms over my waist while leaning down and resting his head on my shoulders, his face turned away. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “Trust me,” I said quietly, leaning up my one arm around his neck and the other stroking his hair. “I do.”

A couple hours later, Natsu was sitting on the floor, leaning against the arm of my couch and groaning. The coffee table was covered in half-eaten boxes of takeout from the Water Tribe restaurant just down the street. I figured he'd left the South Pole a year ago, and had probably spent that whole year eating whatever he could find. I didn’t even want to know what Toph had cooked up for him in the swamp.

He belched. “Ugh. I don’t know if I can move.”

“Do you want to put off the park until tomorrow?” I asked, feeling a little bummed.

“No! I want to see it tonight.” He shot up. “But let’s go before we get too tired.”

“Alright, if you insist.” I teased. “Would you put the leftovers away while I mix us some sidecars?”

I started taking out the ingredients and decanting them into one big bottle. “We’ll have to just drink from this one bottle, I hope that’s okay.”

He put his hand on the small of my back as he schooched past in the kitchen. “That’s fine, so long as you don’t have cooties.”

I shook my head, grinning, but not looking up from the lemon I was squeezing. “Go grab my Future Industries jacket, it’s getting cold.”

“You do realize I can firebend? Also I’m a Saiyan-First one Hybrid right? Not to mention, I grew up in the South Pole. I’m immune to the cold or any temperature for that matter.” He reminded me, taking it out from the closet and handing it to me. “I think you’ll need this more than me right now.” Telling me with a smug look on his face. “Plus, I don’t know if this will fit past my biceps.”

I took the jacket and caught him checking himself out in the mirror propped up against the wall. I picked up the bottle and put on the jacket he handed me. “You ready?”

He took my hold of my arm as I led the way. There were no lights in the park, I wanted it to be haven from all the light of the city, so he held a little flame in his hand to light the way. Mind you, I knew the park by heart. I came here anytime I missed him, or if I had a hard day. And I’d designed it myself. But there was a bench near his statue that I always sat at and I wanted to take him there. It seemed fitting to finally sit there together.

We sat on the bench and I handed him the bottle. “Bottoms up.”

He took a swig and handed it to me. “Tastes better than last time.”

“Well, I had a lot of time to perfect the recipe while you were gone.” I took a few sips.  _ That sounded bitter. _ “I’m sorry, that came out wrong.”

“It’s okay. I was gone for too long and I left you in the dark, and that wasn’t fair to you.” He took another couple of sips and shuddered, “I’m sorry for disappearing.”

I thought of our disagreement earlier when I told him he didn’t have a right to disappear for three years and then act like he knew what was beat for me. “I’m sorry I wrote you so many letters. That must have really smothered you.”

“Actually? They really helped me. It was nice to know I wasn’t being forgotten while I was gone, and they kept me positive in a really dark time of my life. So thank you.”

I turned to smile and caught him watching me. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said, stealing a couple of sips. “I’m just remembering the last time we drank sidecars.”

“That was a good night.” That was the last time we had spent together, dancing. “Can we dance again? For old times sake?”

He stood and offered his hand. “I have gotten better in the time I was gone if that is what you’re worried about.” He chuckled saying that.

We spent the next fifteen minutes or so giggling and dancing, taking breaks to drink some more because, hey, dancing makes you thirsty. But as the bottle emptied, we got even sillier, and at one point Natsu started Airbending little puffs of wind to mess up my hair. Eventually he tripped over my foot, pulling me down onto the ground with him.

“Oh no, are you okay? I’m so sorry. Are you hurt? I can heal you, I learned from Katara...wait, are you laughing?”

I was. I could feel the alcohol hitting me. “Could you imagine if someone found us here? The Avatar and the CEO of Future Industries, sneaking into a park to drink and dance like a couple of kids.”

He chuckled and rolled over to face me. “Imagine if we got caught! If someone called the police and Mako showed up just to find us drunk and disorderly.”

“Or worse, Lin.”

We both fell silent. If Lin found us, we would be in serious trouble. She was ready to arrest her own sister all those years ago, she certainly wouldn’t make an expectation for us.

“We should probably start heading back.” Natsu said, standing up and offering his hand.

I took it. “Agreed. I love Lin, but she kind of scares me.” And I couldn’t risk whatever snide comment she might make about Natsu and I if she really did catch us drunk and dancing or rolling around in the grass together.

This time I looped my arm in his as we walked back to my apartment. I made an effort to walk slowly, partially because I wanted to savour the moment, partially because I didn’t want him to fall and hurt himself. He’d only just healed and gotten back, and I couldn’t risk putting him out of commission again. He rubbed his thumb against my arm as he held it, and I placed my hand on his.  _ Don’t push it, Asami! _

We got back to the apartment and Natsu immediately took off his clothes, only wearing his tanktop and shorts, and got under the covers. I followed suit. “Wake me up if you have a nightmare, okay?” I said, trying not to get close to him, but wishing I could hold him in my arms so he would sleep soundly.

“Same to you.” He rubbed his nose into the pillow.

“Are you wiping your boogers on my pillowcase?”

“No!” he laughed. “It was itchy, I swear.”

I rolled over so my back was facing him. “You’re even grosser than Meelo.”

“Take it back.” He moved closer to me.

I giggled. “Never.”

He started tickling the side of my back. “Take it back.”

“Never!” I shrieked. “All the elements in the world and you choose tickling?”

He didn’t stop. “Take it back!”

Without thinking, the years of self-defence training kicked in. I kicked my leg out and flipped over onto him, pinning his arms down and straddling his chest. “Never.”

_ Now you’ve really done it. _

He raised an eyebrow. “I guess you win this round.”

I let go of his arms and fold mine under my chest. “I guess I do.”

But then he grabbed me by my thighs and flipped me over so I was on my back, my legs in the air against his sides. “Tricked you.”

My breathing slowed as we made eye contact. I felt my heart jump into my throat.  _ Might as well go for it. _ “Natsu, please tell me you remember, the night before you were poisoned and we-”

He leaned into me, pressing his body against mine. “I remember.”

I let out a sigh and felt so relieved, I actually laughed. “I was so worried you had forgotten, after everything that went down.” I wrapped my arms around his body and buried my face in his shoulder, and kissed his neck. “Is this okay?”

He kissed my cheek in return, and whispered, “of course.” I felt his nose brush against my cheek and I turned my head so we were eye-to-eye, our lips just gently touching. Both of us waited for the other to lean in and initiate the kiss, and as we realized we were both waiting for it to happen, we laughed.

“Are you going to kiss me?” I asked.  _ Please say yes. _

“I want to.”

“I want you to, too.”

His hands slid down my thighs and he grabbed them, pulling me even closer to him, smiling as his lips finally met mine.


	12. Don't let the door hit you on your way out

I hear a knock at my door and rush to answer it. I know it’s Bolin, I had invited him over again to get more advice, but a small sliver of me wanted it to be Natsu. “Hey, thanks for coming by again.”

He bounds in with an armful of snacks and drops then on my table. “Alright. Sit down, let's talk.”

I peek out my window to see that the sun is almost set and turn on a couple of lamps. “He hasn’t spoken to me in days, Bo. I told him about Mako and I the morning after and I haven’t seen him since. I have no idea where he’s staying or if he’s even okay.”

He purses his lips. “Yeah...I mean, he’s doing alright, I’ve seen him around. He went all Spirit-y and saved a couple of people from the Spirit Wilds with Mako.” He sees that I’m uncomfortable and adds: “he had to help, yo know, being part of the police, but I don’t really think he did much but guard Natsu as he tried to meditate.”

I bit into one of the sweet buns he brought along with him. “Did he get into the Avatar State?”

He shakes his head. “Not at first. He decided he needed to confront Zaheer so He visited him in prison.”

“SHE WHAT!??”

“I know.” He’s looking at the bottom of his teacup. “I was surprised, too, when I first heard, but it worked. He realized that they were both against Kuvira and led him into the Spirit World and he reconnected with Raava and everything.”

“The guy is beyond amazing.”  _ But he didn’t tell me. _

“How did he react to the news about you and Mako?”

**FLASHBACK**

“Natsu, wait, I’m sorry-”

“Sorry” You’re sorry. Okay. I’ll forgive you for leading me to think that you loved me too, then fucking youre ex-boyfriend.” He leapt out of bed and started getting dressed again, haphazardly stumbling as he put on his pants.

“I didn’t lead you to think that I love you, I do love you.” I whipped the blanket off of me and followed him into the living room. “Please, Natsu, I was in such a rough spot, I only had sex with him because I was hoping that in being with him I could maybe feel you in some weird way but it was obviously a huge fucking mistake.”

“You weren’t the only one struggling, Asami! Did you think it was any easier for me, being stuck and helpless for years without my friends, without you?” He put his shirt and boot on, then the other one, and swung his backpack over his shoulders. “You know what’s the worst part? Part of me wishes you never told me, that you could have kept me in blissful ignorance. How am I supposed to get that image out of my head?”

“Really? You would’ve been fine with this being a secret?” Now I was angry. “I couldn’t not tell you, the guilt grabbed my gut and practically yanked it outside my body. You deserve to know, Natsu, I’ve never lied to you and you know that. Do you really think starting off a relationship with a huge secret is a good idea?”

He opened the door and looked into the hallway. “I’m not so sure there’s any relationship anymore.”

I fully expected the door to slam behind him and to hear him stomp down the hallway, but instead he closed it slowly so as not to set me off edge, and I only just heard his boots skim the surface as he walked towards the stairwell. I left the door unlocked behind him, hoping he would come back, but he didn’t.


	13. Another (Short-lived) Reunion

Not surprisingly, I spent a few days out of my apartment and stayed in the office. It didn’t feel right sleeping there without Natsu and I needed to keep working on some hummingbird prototypes that I had started just before his arrival back in Republic City. I knew we would need something to combat Kuvira, and I figured that her being such a proud Earthbender, she would construct something that would be stable on ground. Hopefully that pride got in her way of planning ahead for an aerial attack.

The phone rang and I seriously considered letting it ring, it had been ringing all day but I had been ignoring it so I could focus on building the birds. I don’t know why I decided to pick it up this time. “Asami Sato speaking.”

“Asami! Thank Spirits, I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”

“Natsu?”

I heard him sigh on the other line. “Listen, we can sort out what happened the other day when we don’t have an imminent attack on the city, but Team Avatar needs you right now. I’m about to fly over to you on Oogi with the guys, we need to scope out Kuvira’s Army.”

“I’ll be ready in ten minutes.” I put the phone back on its hook before he could respond. He was right, we had a city to protect, and we were mature enough to not let drama get in the way of our work. We had already proven that multiple times with previous Mako-related drama.

_ Well, this is kind of Mako drama too. _

_ Spirits, why is it always about him? _

The four of us set off past the mountains that bordered the city, thinking we wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning considered Kuvira was probably miles away preparing for the attack in a couple of weeks. I wanted to talk to Natsu after we found a spot to camp out for the night, but I told myself not to. I had the same sinking feeling in my stomach that I hadn’t felt since the night before Zaheer poisoned him. But this time, I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t cry and tell him how terrified I was of losing him, and Spirits, I’d only just gotten him back. And here we were, about to risk it all again.  _ What if he dies and we never resolve this? What if I die without getting to tell him how much I love him? _

_ What if we never get the chance to be happy together because it’s ripped away from us before we can even try? _ I steadied my breathing and looked up to stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. I couldn’t be crying right now. We had a war to win, and if we lost, there wouldn’t really be a relationship to talk about. We would be imprisoned or killed. War came first.

And suddenly, in the distance, our worst fear came to light. We felt it before we saw it: the earth, the air, everything shaking, as an army of mecha-suits marched towards the city. I felt the colour drain from my face. It was happening already. And it was like nothing we had ever fought against before.

We didn’t have an opportunity to ask if this could be any worse before the universe answered for us. Standing tall was a giant mecha-suit, guided by the Great Uniter herself, complete with some sort of massive gun. Its head turned to face us and the gun was pointed our way.

Bolin yelled for Natsu to get us out FAST. The atmosphere started to hum around us, and a brilliantly purple ray shot from the mecha-suit, my eardrums nearly bursting, the humming quickly crescendoed, culminating in a crashing boom. Oogi flew behind another mountain for safety, barely dodging whatever that ray was. The gun charged again, and in a purple flash, obliterated the mountain.

I leaned over the saddle to see Natsu. “We need to go warn Raiko and the other.”

He kept looking straight ahead. “On it.”

Upon arriving back in the city, I was ordered to go back to my office with Varrick and start working on getting the hummingbirds finished while Natsu went to the front lines to help General Iroh. I turned around to look at him as I walked with Varrick and he was watching, his eyes wide. Last time around he was confident that I wouldn’t lose him, that he would make it out okay. This time, his eyes told a different story. He was terrified. Neither of us knew if we would survive this. I wanted to run to him and hold him, if only for a second. The thought of our last real conversation being him storming out was unbearable.

But we didn’t have time to worry. I walked into the factory to see that the workers had been evacuated, and in any other case if I had walked into an empty factory I would have lost my cool, but I was glad they got out of the city. I wasn’t about to put innocent lives at risk just to build some hummingbirds. I turned to Varrick and scowled at him. “Right, you better get to work, I still don’t trust you and this is your one chance to prove yourself to me for screwing me over. I want thirty birds finished within the hour, between the two of us I think we can get that done.”

I threw him a welding mask, put mine on, and got to work. “Is there anything we can help with, Asami?” Tenzin shouted from the observation deck.

I had almost forgotten I had brought them all along for their safety. “Yeah, think of a plan B if this doesn’t work out.” I appreciated the offer to help, but frankly having people who had no clue what they were doing on my floor would have done nothing but cause me more stress.

A half-hour later and about twelve birds in, Natsu returned. I stopped working momentarily to hear what was going on. “Raiko surrendered, it’s up to us now.”

_ SHIT. WORK FASTER. _ He continued to talk with them for a few more minutes before taking Tenzin, Bumi, Jinora and Kai with him, along with rope and a bag.  _ What is he playing at? _

I kept working and lost track of time while focusing, but another half hour passed and I heard a low rumbling before I felt the ground beneath me start to shake. It was Kuvira, and her weapon was pointed at us. I heard Natsu yell “run” from upstairs, followed by the frantic footsteps, and I bolted. The ray destroyed the building, along with all the birds I had just finished up on.

_ I am going to destroy that Mecha-suit that you would be nothing without. _

“I still have a couple of prototypes in my office,” I offered after we cleared out of the rubble and decided we weren’t giving up yet. “Varrick and I could try to get them flying so you’ll have some air support.”

“Take the wounded with you.” Natsu said. He and the rest of the Team moved out.

I noticed Su and Lin carrying an unconscious Baatar Jr. between the two of them. “Not to be rude, but what’s he doing here?”

Lin chuckled. “Apparently Natsu and the other Airbenders kidnapped him and held him for information about the Mecha-suit.”

“Did it work?”

“Not really,” Su continued, “It would have, though. Natsu was going to threaten him physically but instead told him that unless he radioed Kuvira and got their army to give up Republic City and leave, he would make it his life’s mission to keep him and Kuvira apart forever.”

“Yeah, it would've worked if Kuvira hadn’t found our location by tracking where he radioed her from and blown up your factory.”

The factory I could rebuild. But to abstain from physical violence and instead threaten to keep him away from the love of his life forever? That was wildly unlike Natsu. I fully expected him to have thrown every element at him, including his fists.

I led them into my office and showed Su a bed for Baatar Jr. Lin disappeared momentarily. “Let’s get to work.”

With even less time, and the fact that the prototypes weren’t nearly as ready as the ones in my factory, we were really pushed to our limits. I tested out the first one we finished and it ended up malfunctioning as Natsu arrived with more injured. “How are the hummingbirds coming along?”

I rubbed the grease off my face with a towel. “Slowly, but we’ll have a couple ready. What happened, how are you back so soon?”

“We had to retreat. That Mecha-suit is impossible to take down. Even the joints are platinum, we can’t metalbend it whatsoever.” He sighed and crossed his arms. “I really don’t know how we’re going to do this.”

Something behind him caught my eye. It was Lin, accompanied by my father. “Dad?”

Natsu whirled around in front of me, creating a barrier between the two of us. “I figured we could use whatever help we can get,” Lin said, “if the prison is still standing after this we’ll put him back.”

He had overheard us talking about the platinum joints. “We have plasma saws we could use.”

“Those are too heavy, they’ll weigh down the birds.” I reminded him.

He shook his head. “I have an idea. Let’s get to work.”

If Republic City as we knew it wasn’t at risk of destruction, I would have hesitated letting him help. I hadn’t fully forgiven him yet. But we didn;t have any time to waste. Lin was right, we needed all the help we could get, and my father was the best person for the job. We added electrical elements to the two remaining prototypes that he transformed into plasma saws. The plan was to attack the Mecha-suit with a swarm of Airbenders to distract Kuvira. Dad and I would be in the one hummingbird with Varrick and Zhu Li in the other, and we’d try to create an opening with the plasma saws for the Team to sneak into. Once inside, they’d disconnect the machine entirely.

“Natsu seems awfully protective of you,” he said, breaking the silence as we worked. “He seemed more wary of me being here than you do.”

“He just doesn’t want me to get hurt again. He has his own thoughts about us reconnecting.”

Dad finished his saw and lifted his mask. “He must really care for you.”

I cleared my throat. “He does.” I finished welding and lifted my mask to wipe a tear away from my eye.

He took my hand. “It’s great to be working together again.”

I smiled for the first time all day. “I love you, Dad.” I couldn’t hold onto the resentment anymore. After over three years of hating him and pitying him and questioning whether or not I would ever be able to forgive him, we were working in the same workshop for the same cause.  _ If we make it out of this alive, I’m going to visit him in prison more often to play Pai Sho. _

“I love you, too.”

I climbed into the back seat of the suit and we made our way out of the office and for Kuvira. “We’ll have to be fast, Dad, and careful.”

“He loves you, doesn’t he?” I could see a little smile on his face through the reflection on the window.

“Can we talk about this after we defeat the giant platinum monster?”

He chuckled. “Don’t take love for granted. You never know if the world will take someone away from you.”

I knew he was thinking of Mom. But the moment was quickly ruined when we finally saw the giant marching through the streets, the Airbenders flying around it to annoy Kuvira from the outside. “Let’s do this.”

He nodded. “I’m going in for the leg.”

But Kuvira nearly watted us, and we flew off. “We’re never gonna have time to get through.” I said. Below, Natsu went into the Avatar State, and using water from the river, froze the Mecha-suit. Kuvira shot down the bird Varrick and Zhu Li were in, and they ejected. We were back trying to carve a hole into the surface when the ice that had paralyzed the mecha-suit started to crack. “We need to get out of here!”

Dad continued carving. “Almost there!”

A chunk of ice hit the bird. “We have to go. NOW!”

“Almost there…” he was about two thirds of the way done, “almost there.”

The arm broke free of the ice and shot towards us. “DAD, NOW!”

“Goodbye, Asami,” he flipped the switch in preparation to eject my seat, “I love you.”

I screamed for him as I was shot out of the bird and the parachute opened. The hand finally came down upon the bird and crushed it, he was still inside, and the remains of it crumbled to the ground to reveal a hole in the leg. He did it.

I didn’t burst into tears. I didn’t scream or cry out. He sacrificed himself for me, for Natsu, for Republic City and for the rest of the world. He sacrificed himself for the chance that we might defeat Kuvira and bring peace to Benders and Non-Benders alike.

I landed on the roof of a hotel and scrambled to unbuckle myself. I rushed to the edge to look for everyone. The Team was nowhere to be seen. The hand lifted from the hole, its palm completely clean.

_ They made it. _


	14. It's not him, it's ua

Bo cracks his back as he stands. “He seemed excited to see you once he walked out of the Spirit Portal. You were the first person he looked at. Not Tenzin, or Lis, or me or Mako.”

“I know.” I say, struggling to look at him. “I’m sorry. I needed to tell somebody. I have no idea what to do.”

He walks around the counter, arms open wide for a hug. “You need to talk to him.” He wraps his arms around me, squeezing so tight that I fake cough, and we both laugh. “We’re all going to be together for the wedding, you’ll have to do something before then. For Zhu Li and Varrick.”

“I will.”

“Come on, Pabu.” The little creature climbs onto his shoulder and he opens the door to leave, but is blocked by Natsu, one hand of his in the air ready to knock. “Natsu! We were just talking about you!”

He raises an eyebrow. “You were?”

“All good things!” he stumbles around him as he enters the apartment. “Anyway, Pabu and I are gonna grab some grub, see you soon, nice clothes, your hair looks nice, good job doing Avatar and Dragon Prince things, bye!” and he runs down the hall to the stair. I bury my hace in my hands.  _ Smooth, Bo, thanks for that. _

He lingers under the doorframe. “Can I?”

“Of course.” I run my hands through my hair, thinking of what to say, if anything, as he closes the door behind him and places his backpack on the ground, in the same spot he kept it when he spent the night before Kuvira’s attack on the city. “Natsu, I-”

“When we held Baatar Jr. I couldn’t get through to him by picking a fight. Or maybe I decided I was done being angry and resorting to physical violence, I don’t know, but I realized that there’s pain in this world that’s worse than physical pain. Something that’s worse than torture, poison, or injury.” He crosses his arms and looks at his feet, too nervous to make eye contact with me. “The worst feeling is loneliness and I realized this when I spent three years by myself. Three years without you.”

I gulp. “I was lonely those years without you, too.”

“I’m sorry for overreacting. I realized that I wasn’t mad, I don’t really know how to describe it. I think I felt a little betrayed.”

I looked up from the counter to make eye contact with him. “Natsu, you were gone. I hadn’t heard from you, except for that one letter, and it didn’t seem like you even remembered what happened between us.”

He shakes his head. “No, I don’t mean that you betrayed me. You didn’t. I can’t be angry with you for seeing other people while I was gone, that’s not fair to you. I think what bothered me was that I felt like you had forgotten me, and forgotten everything that we had, or that you were trying to forget.”

“I didn’t want to forget at all,” I explain, “but I wanted to start moving forward. I think I was hoping that if I spent more time with Mako, that in some way I’d feel connected to you somehow.”

He scowls. “How would that make you feel connected to me?”

“Because being with Mako always had some connection to you. My entire relationship with him involved you. I think I wanted to feel like you were present again, and the closest I could get to that was sleeping with him. I hoped that sleeping with him would feel like it did a few years ago, and that you would somehow crop up,” I ran my fingers through my hair again and looked away from him, “but you didn’t. I just wound up feeling even lonelier and missing you even more.”

He sighs. “I’m sorry. I freaked out over this because I thought you were trying to forget me, I didn’t realize that you were trying to do the exact opposite of forgetting.”

“You Pyro, why would you think I was trying to forget you?” I ask, a little confused at his conclusion. “I was writing to you. I wanted to keep in contact. I wanted you around, no part of me wanted to forget.”

“I think I was feeling insecure.” He starts pacing the floor, talking with his hands. “I felt horrible for not keeping in contact with you. I was so thankful for your letters but I also felt like I didn’t deserve them, and that you deserve better than someone who disappeared without even trying to talk about what happened between us. And I think I was afraid that someday you would realize that too and eventually forget about me.”

I approach him and take his hands in mine. “Natsu, I was hurting for you. I wasn’t hurting over you not keeping in contact.”

He looks down at the ground again.  _ You don’t have to be scared _ , I wanted to say. “I wasn’t mad at you for sleeping with Mako. I was jealous.”

“You were jealous that I fucked Mako? Trust me, I would’ve much rather slept with you that night.” I joked right back.

He looks back up from the ground and I see a little smile has snuck up on him, taking us both by surprise, and I can’t help but smile back. “I’m sorry for overreacting. I let my insecurities get the best of me and I took it out on you and that wasn’t fair.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner.”

He pulls his hand away to wipe a tear from my eye. “Are we okay?”

I put the hand he let go of against my face and rub his cheek with his thumb. “Of course we’re okay. I think we just had our first fight, and we worked through it.”

He leans his head into my hand and kisses it. “First fight...Sounds like something couples do.”

“Almost like we’re in a relationship or something,” I say, pulling him into a hug.

He wraps his arms around my back and while leaning down to rest his head on the nook of my neck. “If you’re my girlfriend now, can I ask you to be my date to the wedding?”

“I’d love to be your date,” I say, leaning up to kiss the top of his head, “I think we’ll be the snazziest couple there.”


	15. A Moment's Peace

I felt Natsu’s elbow brush against my arm as he shuffled in his seat. My hands were folded in my lap, but I extended a finger and grazed his thigh. I didn’t need to look at him to know he was blushing. I wanted to reach out and take his hand, pull it onto my lap and rub my thumb against his. But Mako was sitting on my other side while Lisanna was sitting on the other side of Natsu, who are both completely unaware of me and Natsu. Nobody knew except Bolin, which meant Opal probably knew. And Pema, so I wouldn't be surprised if Tenzin knew, maybe even the Air kids. Mira knew, but she could keep a secret. This was our first date, so I didn’t really know what displays of affection would be appropriate.

_ Can someone else’s wedding be a first date? _

_ I mean, he did ask you to be his date to the wedding. _

Everyone started cheering when Varrick and Zhu Li kissed. I used all the noise as cover, leaned closer to him and whispered: “Can we dance, so I have an excuse to hold you hand?”

“Only if you let me lead.”

I smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

The applause died down and everyone followed Zhu Li and Varrick back down the aisle to the reception. Lisanna and Mako turned to us, not registering how closely Natsu and I were walking next to one another. “It's an open bar, you guys want to get drinks?”

“I don’t think I can dance without at least a couple sidecars in my system,” Natsu joked.

The four of us sat at the bar for some time, drinking and laughing. We joked about Natsu and Mako getting back into pro-bending, now that he was back and the city wasn’t flattened. Mako would need to heal first, though, his arm was still in a sling from the Lightningbending during the battle. “How are you feeling?” I asked him.

“You know, it’s getting better. But I think it’ll be awhile before I’m back in commission.”

“I could always help heal it if you want?” Natsu offered.

“That’s actually not a bad idea,” he nodded, and cleared his throat. “I just wanted to say, and I hope this isn’t weird, but I’m really glad the three of us are friends. I know things were messy for a while but I think we make a great team.”

“Don’t get too sappy on us, Mako,” Natsu teased.

“That’s all I wanted to say,” he said getting up and placing his empty glass on the bar. “I have to go and keep watch over Wu. Can’t risk another attempted kidnapping.”

“Just like him to get sappy and leave a conversation, huh?” Lisanna joked once he was out of earshot.

Natsu laughs. “Somethings never change.” He offers his hand to me. “Ready to dance?”

I took it and he pulled me onto the dance floor. The music was more upbeat than we were used to, but we made it work. He spun me round and my hair hit him in the face. “I should’ve brought something to tie it up.”

He shook his head. “I like it.”

We took breaks periodically. As I sipped some water by the bar, I noticed Natsu talking to Lisanna, Mako and Wu. They looked surprised. Wu walked away, Natsu, Lisanna and Mako spoke for a minute. Then Mako walked away, leaving Lis and Natsu to speak alone for a while until she left. Natsu came back to me as the music slowed. “Sorry, Avatar stuff.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah, actually.” He stole a few sips of my water. “Wu is going to start building a democratic government in the Earth Kingdom.”

“Wow. That’s kind of a relief.”

“Yeah. And Mako said he would always have my back. Lisanna on the other hand said something pretty off at the end of our little talk. I don’t know what brought on such an off tone coming from her. I guess if she wanted to talk to me about something she would, no point getting a headache from it.” He smiled and handed my water back to me.

I finished the glass and placed it on the bar. “I’m really glad to hear Mako isn’t off about anything really. Though, I’m a little worried about Lisanna and that tone of hers you mentioned.”

“Come on, don’t worry,” he took my hand again, “I want to dance with you.”

We started off holding hands, his free hand on my waist, and mine on his shoulder, slowly dancing in circles. I looked past him and made eye contact with Mira, who, as usual, and a cheerful smile, as well as keeping a watchful eye over everyone. She nodded at me, and to my surprise, smiled back at me. But before I could smile back she went to dance with her boyfriend, Laxus.  _ Of course. _

Natsu let go of my hand and put it on my waist, pulling me closer to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning up to let our foreheads touch. “I don’t think I’m ready to kiss in public yet.” I say to him.

He opens his eyes and smiles at me. “That’s okay. We don’t have to do anything you don't want to do.”

We stayed like this for a while. Swaying in each other's arms, heads pressed against each other, our noses occasionally touching. But neither of us wanted to push it, so we broke apart, and I went to have another drink. I watched him as he leaned against the archway by the water, the light of the new Spirit Portal casting a long shadow behind him. I wanted to follow him and wrap my arms around him, but decided to give him a moment to himself. This was probably the first time since leaving the South Pole that he had a chance to relax, to finally breathe, to enjoy a moment’s peace. I didn’t care if anyone caught me gazing at him. They were going to find out eventually.

Pema approached the bar and broke my line of vision. “Can I get a glass of champagne?”

“I didn’t know you drank.” I said.

“Not usually, but tonight is special.” She took the glass from the bartender and thanked him. “You and Natsu seem to be getting along well.”

I propped my elbow up on the bar and leaned into my hand. “I took your advice.”

“How’d it go?”

“You were right.” I admitted, and couldn’t help myself from smiling. “Things aren’t the same. They’re better. And I think they’re going to keep getting better.”

She rubbed my shoulder. “I’m proud of you, sweetie. Does anyone know yet?”

I lifted my head and took a sip of my drink. “Bolin does. And I think Mira’s got us figured out. But we haven’t told anybody else yet.”

“I’m not surprised Mira figured you two out, being the eldest sibling and the most responsible one, she’s gotten to be pretty observant.” Not wanting to out Mira, I agreed. I noticed Tenzin had now joined Natsu and the two were talking. “Thank you, Pema. For everything.”

“Anytime. And you know you’re welcome at Air Temple Island any time you want. Someday you and Natsu should come by for dinner, I haven’t told Tenzin but I’m sure he’d be so pleased to hear you two are together.”

“I’m definitely going to take you up on that offer.” I stood up and fixed my hair. “I’m going to rescue Natsu from Tenzin.”

Pema turned around to look at them. “Oh dear, that’s not a bad idea.”

I lied and told Tenzin, Varrick wanted to borrow a glider suit to jump off a tower, and he rushed away, Natsu asked me to sit with him. We left enough space so people wouldn’t talk, but let our fingertips just barely touch. He apologized again for disappearing and I assured him he had nothing to apologize for, I was glad he took all the time he needed to heal, and I was just so thankful he was back.

“I don’t think I could’ve handled losing you and my father on the same day,” I said, crying a little. He hugged me, but we both pulled away.

“So, what now? Back to the dance floor?” he asked.

“I’m all danced out. Honestly, after everything that’s happened the past few months, I could use a vacation.”

He perked up. “Let’s do it! Let’s go on a vacation, just the two of us. Anywhere you want.”

“Really?” I smiled. “Okay. I’ve always wanted to see what the Spirit World’s like.”

“Sounds perfect.”


	16. Epilogue

The driver shut the door behind Natsu as he ripped the tie from his neck. “Ugh, finally, this thing was really starting to strangle me.” We snuck out of the reception early just after deciding to go on vacation together to the Spirit World. I thought we were pretty conspicuous about it, until I made eye contact with Bolin while hailing a cab who, upon realizing we were leaving together before the party was even over, gave me a little thumbs up.  _ As soon as I’m back in Republic City, I’m going to take him out to eat as a thank you. _

I slid all the way along in the backseat to create some space between us. We had agreed already that we didn’t want to risk making out in the back of the cab. We didn’t want the world to find out about us via tabloid headline: Avatar Natsu and CEO of Future Industries Caught Kissing the Cab! We wanted to have a little time for ourselves. We wanted to tell everyone ourselves. So as much as I wanted to spend the drive kissing him, I refrained.

But, I did prop my leg up onto the seat, and Natsu slid towards me, lying on his back between my hips. I felt his ribs press against my thighs, and down again, press, and down, as he breathed. As I swept the hair of his face I noticed the colours shining from the Spirit Portal in the distance reflecting in his eyes. This was all his doing, his creation, and it was beautiful.

Not wanting to say anything that would tip off the driver, I said “The lights from the new portal are beautiful.”

“I can’t seem them from down here.” Natsu gazed up at me and noticed I wasn’t even looking out the window, but at him. “They’re shining in your eyes, though.”

“Yours too.”

Several hours later, in the dead of night, we left for the Spirit World. We nearly let ourselves sleep after the long ride back to my apartment, but decided it would be best if we left before the world awoke tomorrow and dragged us both back to work. We needed a vacation, and we knew that if we left until morning, we would never get to go.

  
As we approached the Portal, I saw Natsu look at me out of the corner of my eye. I turned to him, saw he was already smiling, and I smiled back. We helped hands as we walked into the portal, and turned to face each one another. It felt like simultaneously melting into the ground, and evaporating into the clouds above us. I held tighter onto his hands as the light became so bright that I couldn’t even see him anymore. He squeezed my hands in return, almost to say,  _ I’m right here. I got you. _


End file.
